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 rare live performances have garnered loyal friends and fans at venues and festivals throughout the United States, and they have released six albums charting their unique path in American traditional music.

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. Although he has spent time in Ireland and NYC and forayed into other acoustic genres—even fiddling on the Emmy-nominated crossover theme song from the TV show “Justified”—his heart always brought him back to the traditional music of his Blue Ridge Mountains homeland.

Jason is the 2026-2027 Artist in Resonance Fellow at the American Folklife Center within the Library of Congress. His playing has been described as “a seamless fusion of rhythm and melody, with the power to reach deep inside and inspire strong emotional responses” (Bluegrass Unlimited), “pure fiddle joy” (Fiddler Magazine), and “as honest and direct a representation of music sourced from past generations of North Carolina fiddlers as one could wish for” (fRoots). In 2016, he won the fiddle contest at the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, WV, and he has also placed first in regional contests in Georgia, Florida, and New York.

North Georgia native Rob McMaken cut his teeth busking in New Orleans and toured the US and Europe playing an eclectic mix of global folk music with the band Dromedary in his early twenties. After moving to Athens, GA in the 1990s, he recorded and performed with Americana artists like Jonathan Byrd and Jim White. Once Rob connected with Jason, he began his deep dive into Southern Appalachian oldtime music. He has since developed a distinctive accompaniment style on lap dulcimer, mandolin, guitar, and banjo-uke—seamlessly weaving between melody, harmonic counterpoint, and rhythmic drones that echo Old World aesthetics. Rob’s playing has been praised as "both emotional and expressive, transcending any particular age" (FolkWorld), "deftly complementing the fiddle melodically and harmonically" (Musical Traditions), and "glorious" (The Living Tradition).

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. Rob and Jason soon reconnected, and Hog-eyed Man was born.

Hog-eyed Man’s sixth album, “Across the Sea” (Tiki Parlour Recordings), was released July 4, 2025. The album is a unique collaboration with Florida-based Paddy League, a master of Irish & Greek traditional music, and Michael Starkey, a talented clawhammer banjo player living in the highlands of Scotland. As a trio, Jason, Rob, and Michael placed 5th in the traditional band contest at the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, WV, in 2025, representing the first time a mountain dulcimer was featured in the finals.

Together or with other bands Rob and Jason 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. In 2026, Rob and Jason were on the faculty at the Blue Ridge Old Time Music Week in Mars Hill, NC.