who is Hog-eyed man?
“There is a conscious sense of playing music that means something, of playing it in ways that honour the tradition and those from whom the tunes are handed down. At the same time, these are musicians who bring qualities of their own, reflecting their own engagement with what they're playing and infusing the tunes with character that brings out their life and soul.”
- Ray Templeton, Musical Traditions.
Rob & Jason, Athens, GA 2015. Photo: Amy Heaton
Hog-eyed Man is an Athens-based acoustic band comprised of fiddler Jason Cade and multi-instrumentalist Rob McMaken. Drawing primarily on the archaic tunes and pre-radio aesthetics of Southern Appalachian fiddling traditions, Jason and Rob have forged a compelling and authentic style of oldtime music, both reflecting deep respect for the past masters and carrying the musical conversation forward to the present era. Their live performances, though rare, have garnered loyal friends and fans at venues and festivals throughout the United States, and they have released five official albums charting their unique path in American traditional music, with a sixth release due out summer 2025.
As a youngster, Jason Cade began learning rare tunes and an older style of playing from master fiddler and tune-catcher Bruce Greene, his neighbor growing up in the South Toe Valley of Yancey County, NC. Jason’s oldtime music is also heavily influenced by his mother’s fiddle teacher, the late Byard Ray of Madison County, NC, and the field recordings of the tremendous musicians who once lived in the Blue Ridge Mountain region of western NC, eastern TN, and north Georgia. He has lived in Ireland and NYC, and toured and recorded with celtic, country, and bluegrass bands, but his heart has always remained with the traditional music of his NC homeland. In 2016, Jason won the prestigious fiddle contest at the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, WV, and he has also placed first in contests in Georgia and Florida.
North Georgia native Rob McMaken honed his tune chops busking in New Orleans. He has developed a tasteful and exciting accompaniment style on lap dulcimer, mandolin, guitar, and banjo-uke, effortlessly shifting between note-for-note melody, harmonic counterpoint, and rhythmic drones harkening back to the Old World. Before immersing himself in oldtime music, Rob traversed musical traditions from all over the world in the folk duo Dromedary and the jazz collective Kenosha Kid.
Jason and Rob met in North Carolina in 2003 while recording on songwriter Jonathan Byrd’s celebrated album, The Sea and the Sky. A decade later, Jason moved his family to Athens, GA from Brooklyn, NY. Rob and Jason soon reconnected, and Hog-eyed Man was born. Together or with other bands they have performed at the Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Festival, the Santa Barbara Old-Time Fiddlers Festival (twice), the Kennedy Center, Celtic Colours (Nova Scotia), Mountain Stage, the Kerrville Folk Festival, the Moab Folk Festival, the UGA Willson Center’s Humanities Festival, FSU’s Center for Music of the Americas, the Happy Valley Fiddlers Convention, Fiddlin’ Fest Between the Rivers, the North Georgia Folk Festival, the Bluff Mountain Festival (NC), and many other venues.
Jason & Bruce, Burnsville, NC 1987. Photo: Marilyn Cade
Rob, Athens, GA 2016. Photo: Jason Thrasher
Hog-eyed Man’s five albums have been widely praised:
“Every number is memorable and distinct. Even the occasional familiar cut staggers the heart. If anybody is doing superior recordings of oldtime music these days, I'm not hearing them." —Rambles
"A masterpiece." —Bluegrass Unlimited
“Absolutely cracking, one of the best albums of the year.” —Blues Matters
"As long as traditional music can be played with this degree of faithfulness to its origins, combined with a real sense of the modern musicians who are playing it, its future seems in very good hands.” —Musical Traditions
“Terrific, [with] incredible depth of feeling.” —American Roots UK
“As honest and direct a representation of music sourced from past generations of North Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia fiddlers as one could wish for.” —fRoots
"Extremely well-played, pure fiddle joy." —Fiddler Magazine
"A cracking selection of wonderful tunes, the disc showcases the remarkably wide emotional range of pre-stringband old-time music." —The Living Tradition
“All the playing is magnificent and makes excellent listening.” —Folkworks
“A creative breath of fresh air.” —Across the Blue Ridge (Paul Brown)
"Quite remarkable!" —The Old-Time Herald
“Heartfelt artistry in the oldest sounds of Appalachian music, with room for creativity & brilliant inspiration." —Jimmy Triplett
More Reviews.
Along with Florida-based Paddy League, a master of Irish & Greek music, and Michael Starkey, the talented clawhammer banjo player living in the highlands of Scotland, Jason and Rob are currently working on “Across the Sea,” a unique collaboration that explores and celebrates the transatlantic connections and stories that have always animated American traditional music. Read more here. Bandcamp preorder here.
Collaborators with Hog-eyed Man include: Tom Baker (Packway Handle Band), David Bragger, Brendan Doyle, Maxine Gerber, John Grimm, Charlie & Nancy Hartness (Hawk Proof Rooster), Amanda Kapousouz, Paddy League, Beverly Smith, Michael Starkey, and, until his passing in 2022, the legendary Art Rosenbaum.
Jason uses and enthusiastically endorses D'Addario strings, which are featured on all of our recordings. Jason also loves his Coda Bow and gourd fiddle made by Menzies Instruments.
For booking or other inquiries please message us at cadejason [at] gmail.com or through our public facebook.