Forged in friendship and family, the West Michigan-based band, The Smokin’ Dobroleles, has the uncanny ability to feed off each other and their audience to create the perfect mix of medicine to cure what ails you. The Smokin melodic tremolo and solid chops of Mike Renna’s resonator ukulele and songwriting skills blend perfectly with Abe Kurzer’s soulful dobro and their vocal harmonies create a singular sound that will have your whole body swaying. Rounding out this eclectic crew and sure to have you smiling, we have Brandon Tabor holding down the low end on upright bass and the well seasoned, fearless timekeeper, John Ellsworth, on all things drums and percussion.
Because each musician has their own musical influences that span genres across the wide tapestry of music including bluegrass, folk, country, jazz, rock, reggae, hip-hop, and blues, the group likewise expresses themselves in a cornucopia of style and sound that is uniquely Smokin’-Dobrolelesque.
The band pulls from a long history together and a deep repertoire of original and cover songs - all with that Smokin’ Dobro flavor. Their albums, Take Two and Pass (2018), and The Smokin’Dobroleles (2021), take you on a journey through these various artistic influences. Their songs take on a life of their own when performed live and no two shows are ever the same. That explains why they’ve developed a following over the years while sharing the stage and opening for bands like Michael Cleveland & the Flamekeeper, Full Cord, ClusterPuck, Native Howl, and Fauxgrass, and playing festivals including: Shorts Fest, Michigan Glass Project, Tamarack Music Fest, Noreast’r Music Festival, Hippiefest, Tie-Dye Festival, FarmFest, and Forest Trail music festival.
Slide on in to their next show and you won’t be disappointed! In fact, you’ll be asking, “What’s going on after the show?” No doubt if you follow the smell and the sound, you’ll find out why they’re called Smokin’ Dobroleles.
