Big Leg Emma

Americana jam-band Big Leg Emma likes to throw listeners off by tossing fiddles, mandolins, and djembes (it's a hand drum) into its mix. But the music the sextet makes isn't nearly as complicated. In fact, it's a laid-back blend of Appalachian mountain jams, Grateful Dead-like guitar licks, and strumming alt-country twang. On record, this can all come off a bit stilted and dull. But live — where bands like this are meant to be experienced anyway — Big Leg Emma really cooks. The Jamestown, New York group swings effortlessly from string-searing rockers to weepy porch ballads onstage.