What's Happening

New Cats formed back in the summer of 2012 when Jordan Blimbaum had the idea of starting a bluegrass band in the Heart of Illinois. He’d recently moved to Peoria from Atlanta, where he’d started picking the banjo in bluegrass jam circles. In Peoria, he met guitarist Chris Skierski, mandolin & banjo player Mike Adashek, and bassist Evan Stumpges through their new job. They all started playing music together, which evolved into an amazing friendship and musical journey. The band members encompass a wide mixture of music backgrounds from jazz to punk and each bring their own unique flavor to the bluegrass genre. They fuse a mixture of high energy and uptempo new and traditional bluegrass & folk music, along with a handful of their own finely crafted tunes. Over the years the band has gone through a number of lineup changes and was fortunate to pick up Karolina Wozny on fiddle and mandolin in 2015. Jordan now lives in California and Mike in Michigan, but whenever possible they still join the core New Cats trio consisting of Chris, Karolina, and Evan. Since its founding, New Cats has performed throughout Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan at local festivals, parks, charity events, and weddings. Your friendly neighborhood bluegrass band would love to see you at a show soon!