Mipso, string band, comes to Blairstown

Jacob Sharp does not talk like a renegade. He sounds like a polite Southerner in his 20s who loves to sing and play the mandolin.

Nonetheless, Sharp is one of the founders of Mipso, billed as “North Carolina’s renegade string band.” The quartet will bring its distinctive approach to bluegrass and folk music to the Historic Blairstown Theatre tonight.

The “renegade” label is a bit tongue-in-cheek, admits Sharp. “We don’t play a lot of traditional songs. We play mostly originals,” he says.

“When we do covers, they’re songs we’ve arranged in an original way,” he says. For example, Mipso has played Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” or George Michael’S “Careless Whisper” – neither of which is usually associated with bluegrass music.

Mipso came together in 2010, when Sharp and co-founders Wood Robinson (on bass) and Joseph Terrell (on guitar) were attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

They deliberately refer to themselves as a “string band” as opposed to only a “bluegrass band.” “(Terrell) plays bluegrass guitar,” Sharp says. “(Robinson) is influenced by jazz.”

The group became a quartet with the addition of Libby Rodenbough, a classically trained violinist. Like the others, Rodenbough is a North Carolina native.

The members of Mipso take pride in hailing from the Tarheel State. One of their original compositions is called “Carolina Calling.” Another, “When I’m Gone” (no relation to the Carter Family song of the same title) refers to the “North Carolina clay.”

“The music we play is the pulse of our state,” says Sharp. “It’s in our roots.”

In the course of only about four years, Mipso has already reached an international audience. The band has toured in China and Japan and Europe, besides playing across the country.

“You learn your strengths as live performers,” Sharp says of the touring schedule. “We were learning about making music.”

The members of Mipso are also becoming more proficient in the recording studio. “We learned a lot while were making our last CD,” says Sharp, referring to “Dark Holler Pop.”

The fact that the band’s blend of folk and bluegrass and jazz transcends language and borders does not surprise Sharp. “I’ve studied, and I’ve learned how bluegrass spread to Japan after World War II,” he says.

“Music and authenticity are 100 percent translatable to any language,” Sharp says. “Everyone can relate to themes like heartbreak and loss.”

In addition, Sharp says he and the others never feel that far from home. “In our travels, we find that there are a lot of people from the Carolinas who now live all over the country,” he says.

Sharp also feels that timing is on his band’s side. Groups like Mipso and the Steep Canyon Rangers (the North Carolina-based bluegrass band that has accompanied Steve Martin in recent years) are riding a wave of acoustic-based music.

“This is a great time to be playing American roots music,” Sharp says. “You even hear it on the radio. There’s a leaning toward melody and close harmonies.”

Mipso is applying all the lessons it learned in its next CD, scheduled for a fall 2015 release. The group’s schedule for this year includes more US touring.

One of its stops: Merlefest, the roots music festival held in late April in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. “For a North Carolina band, that’s very special, Sharp says. “We’re very lucky kids.”

MIPSO

WHAT: This young quartet, billed as “North Carolina’s renegade string band,” plays contemporary music (most of which is original) rooted in the traditional styles of bluegrass and folk.

WHEN: 8:30 tonight, doors open at 8

WHERE: Historic Blairstown Theatre, 30 Main St., Blairstown

TICKETS: $20

INFORMATION: 908-362-1399 or www.thehbt.com