BY MATT KITE for WEEKLY VOLCANO 8/8/25 |
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That could be the title of the forthcoming album from The Rusty Cleavers, Tacoma’s long-running band that blends bluegrass and punk rock so effortlessly that the two genres sound like close siblings, not distant cousins.
Instead, The Rusty Cleavers’ new album features a title that devoted fans might recognize: The Rusty Cleavers. It’s the band’s third album—all three of which are self-titled. As Forest Beutel, the band’s banjo and harmonica player, explains, the album’s title can be traced to one thing: “the inability to agree on album titles.”
Forest and his bandmates—Luke Sumerfield (washboard and tenor guitar), Kevin Shintaku (mandolin and guitar), and Zach Bernard (bass)—couldn’t settle on a title that pleased everyone. So they did what they’ve done twice before and kept it self-titled.
The band will be celebrating the album’s official release on Friday, August 8, at the Airport Tavern. Also on the bill are The Cottonwood Cutups and Sam Cori. Doors open at 7:00 p.m., with the music starting at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 on the day of the 21+ show. The new album will be streaming everywhere and available in CD format.
The new album consists of thirteen songs and was recorded at Pacific Studios in downtown Tacoma, with producer and engineer Mark Simmons at the console. The band recorded each song live without any overdubs, and Forest, Luke, Kevin, and Zach took turns delivering lead vocals or harmonies as needed.
“Mark is a real joy to work with,” Forest says. “He kind of put the mics in front of us and said, ‘Do your thing,’ and then he just pressed record. Anytime we did a take and were like, ‘Maybe that was good enough,’ he’d say, ‘Give me another.’
“He kind of stayed out of the way until we needed an objective voice to come in and say, ‘Do it again,’ or, ‘That one was good enough.’”
The band formed in 2010 while Forest and the rest of the gang were students at Pacific Lutheran University. Along with releasing its first album in 2014, The Rusty Cleavers collaborated with now-defunct Wingman Brewers to release its own beer in the same year. Since the beginning, the band has worked as a team, with everyone contributing instrumentation, vocals, and ideas. And it has become known for its high-energy shows and undistilled sound.
“We were just college kids playing music with the instruments we had,” Forest says of the band’s early years. “I don’t think we set out to be a punk rock bluegrass band. That’s just who we are.”
The new album, meanwhile, marks a professional leap for the band. “All of our voices are represented equally,” Forest explains. “Everybody takes the lead on a song. After being together fifteen years, we’re just better than we used to be. We wanted to make sure we got that captured on audio. It’s still high-energy. The themes of love and loss and bad decisions are all still there. We’re just better at our instruments, and we’re better at harmonizing with each other.”
Noah Struthers, an accomplished Tacoma artist, crafted the artwork for the album, which fans will be able to get their hands on at the release show. The band’s set list will include several songs from the new album, plus a surprise or two.
“We usually try to throw in a new cover [song],” Forest says. “We haven’t decided on that yet for sure, but normally at a CD release show we bring in a fun cover. It’s our first show in nine months, and we’re really excited to share the recording with everybody and to play Tacoma. We love Tacoma. It’s always been so good to us. We love the community. We’re really excited to play it at the Airport Tavern, which is a great venue and longtime supporter of Tacoma music.”
Rusty Cleavers, Airport Tavern, Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. ($10–$15). airporttavern.com
