"You gotta know the rules before you can break them," says Mustered Courage co-founder Julian Abrahams. Good advice from a musician who started out playing jazz and hip-hop before eventually picking up the acoustic guitar to form the four-piece Australian string band. Nick Keeling is the lone American in the band, hailing from Austin, Texas. He played jazz trombone before moving to Melbourne, learning the banjo and finding bassist Josh Bridges and mandolin player Paddy Montgomery to round out the band.

Mustered Courage play a mix of bluegrass and original music and are in the midst of a North American tour. They were concerned about bending the "rules" of traditional bluegrass here in the States, but have found a very open and appreciative audience.

Their latest album, Powerlines, was released in the U.S. in July, and Mustered Courage are already mustering music for their next recording.

Mustered Courage stopped in the Radio Heartland studio to chat and to give us an example of what they do so well.

Songs Performed

"Southern Style"
"Honesty"
"My Hometown"
The first and third tracks are off Mustered Courage's album, Powerlines, out now in the U.S. on Travianna Records.

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