The Hosmer Mountain Boys are a retro bluegrass band that is quickly rising in the New England Bluegrass scene and having a lot of fun in the process. They were voted the “Fan Favorite” at the 2023 Podunk Bluegrass Festival, performed in Lexington, KY on WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, and crossed the pond for the 2024 Battlefield Bluegrass Festival in England.
Keegan (guitar) and Simon (banjo) met at Mando Camp North in 2018 at age 16 and instantly connected over their passion for Flatt & Scruggs. Red Day, (mandolin) has recently been added to the band this season. Cathy Bumgarner Day (fiddle) and Tom Bowman (bass) complete the lineup with decades of regional bluegrass experience.
Simon (banjo) has been described by some attendees at the Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival in Brunswick, ME, as Connecticut’s best‑kept secret. You’ll hear that Keegan’s major guitar‑picking influences include Riley Pucket, Don Reno, and the thumb‑picking style of Lester Flatt.
Rounding out the band is Cathy Bumgarner Day on fiddle and Tom Bowman on bass, both staples in the New England Bluegrass Music scene for decades.
BOOKINGS: HOSMERMOUNTAINBOYS@GMAIL.COM
If you are wondering about the band’s connection with the Hosmer Mountain Soda Company, owned by the Potvin families, here’s the story.
The band and the company are only related in that they both have a connection to the part of town where the Hosmer Mountain rises up. The store is located at the foot of the Hosmer mountain, where they make old-fashioned flavors like Sarsaparilla, Birch Beer, Lime Rickey, and classics like Root Beer, Ginger Ale, and many, many more. For over 100 years, this family-owned business is a nostalgic stop in Eastern CT, where the soda is still in reused glass bottles.
The band’s connection is through Simon (although the rest of the band is a huge fan of the soda). Simon was born in a house, a short walk away. As a young boy, he told his parents that when he grew up, he would have a bluegrass band one day, and name it, “The Hosmer Mountain Boys!” And that he did!
Bill Potvin, one of the 4 brothers in the Potvin Family, told the band they were actually called the Hosmer Mountain Boys, many years ago, after they started running the company.
They are a proud sponsor of the band, often sending the boys off with soda to bring to some of the shows!
