Che Apalache

Uniquely fusing bluegrass with Latin traditions, the Buenos Aires-based string band Che Apalache formed around American expat fiddler Joe Troop. Although the group began as a conventional bluegrass outfit, their 2017 debut already wove in flamenco alongside Uruguayan murga and candombe rhythms. This self-described Latingrass style drew the attention of banjo innovator Béla Fleck, who produced the quartet’s 2019 follow-up, Rearrange My Heart.

Troop, raised in North Carolina’s Piedmont region amid the traditional sounds of the Appalachian foothills, eventually left the area to live in Spain, Morocco, and Japan before settling in Argentina and offering bluegrass instruction. Despite the genre’s rarity in South America, his teaching sparked a modest yet devoted local scene; in 2013 he assembled a quartet comprising himself on vocals and fiddle, Mexican banjo player Pau Barjau, and Argentinians Franco Martino on guitar and Martin Bobrik on mandolin.

During their early years the musicians performed throughout Buenos Aires, where their Appalachian sound was embraced as an exciting novelty. Troop’s bandmates gradually introduced elements of their own Latin heritage, prompting the group to adopt the Latingrass label; that name also graced their 2017 debut album, which they supported with an inaugural U.S. tour. At an Appalachian festival they connected with multi-genre banjo icon Béla Fleck, who later produced their next release. Issued by Free Dirt Records in 2019, Rearrange My Heart further broadened the quartet’s palette by adding additional Latin textures and touches of European folk music.