The Players

Lunch at the Dump is an acoustic string band that has been playing throughout New England for over thirty years. With members from the seacoast and central New Hampshire, the band plays a mix of traditional and contemporary bluegrass, folk, and blues, as well as western swing material made famous in the 1930s and ‘40s by bands like Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. The band exudes a relaxed and fun approach to their performances that reflects their long experience. Lunch at the Dump are:

Matt Leavenworth on fiddle, guitar, vocals and has been a familiar session player and sideman for many Boston-area groups of all types of music since the early 1980s.

Stanley Chew on guitar, mandolin, and vocals, is the only southerner in the group and the ‘Maryland’ tone in his singing lends authenticity to the Dump’s ‘roots’ material.

John Holden on fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and vocals is a familiar face from the Contoocook area at many picking sessions and fiddle contests. His great songwriting contributions make up much of the band’s original material.

Pete Soukas holds down the band’s driving center on guitar, adding his vocal harmony to many of the band’s traditional pieces.

Chris Pimentel, a musical presence in the Seacoast area for over thirty years, is the band’s acoustic bassist and his smooth vocal renderings are featured on many tunes.

Pete Leavenworth is on banjo, dobro, pedal steel, and vocals. He and his brother Matt are founding members of the band who grew up in East Concord, New Hampshire. His various instrumental shifts lend subtle changes in the sound texture within the band’s variety of styles.