Colorado bluegrass trio Jake Leg lit up the main stage at RockyGrass 2025 with a set that blended tradition and fresh original material. Band members Dylan McCarthy, Justin Hoffenberg, and Eric Wigg spoke with Matt Malick about the honor of playing RockyGrass, their teaching roles at the Academy, and their upcoming sophomore album, which they’ll record at eTown this fall. With new songs on the horizon and shows scheduled from Montana to Colorado, Jake Leg continues to grow as one of the region’s standout bluegrass bands.
Matt Malick: Welcome back to the 2025 broadcast of KGNU and Grass Newgrass, live from RockyGrass and Planet Bluegrass. I have some amazing musicians and fine, fine human beings in front of me right now who played the main stage earlier. Guys from Jake Leg, why don’t you introduce yourselves? What do you play?
Jake Leg: Hey, listeners. This is Dylan McCarthy. I play mandolin and sing in Jake Leg. And this is Justin Hoffenberg. I play the fiddle.
Matt Malick: First off, amazing set. I know you guys really well, but I was legitimately blown away by that performance.
Jake Leg: Thanks, Matt.
Matt Malick: Yeah. How did all this come about with you playing the main stage this year?
Jake Leg: You can thank the kind folks at Planet Bluegrass for inviting us to be a part of it. We’ve all attended and been part of this festival in various ways for years. It’s a very special place to us, and to be invited to the main stage lineup was really a dream come true—for me, for sure.
Matt Malick: And you were teaching at the Academy this year as well?
Jake Leg: That’s right. Dylan, myself, and then Eric Wigg, our guitar player, who’s not with us at the moment.
Matt Malick: He might be joining us. That’s his middle name? Yes? Eric “TBD” Wigg. [laughs] So how was the Academy?
Jake Leg: It was great. No, really—it’s fantastic. I’ve taught at the Academy, teaching the children, for about 15 or 16 years now, and it’s always a magical week. This year I was lucky to work with the adults for the first time, teaching mandolin at a few different levels—novice, intermediate, advanced—with electives. It’s such a great week to be around people so excited about learning bluegrass, and so willing to come along with me through the trenches of mandolin licks. It was a really fun week, and shout out to those students because they really brought their A-game.
Matt Malick: Well, they had a pretty good teacher.
Jake Leg: I appreciate that, Matt. Thank you. I do my best. And I know they had at least good teachers, because we had Joe K. Walsh, Sharon Gilchrist, and myself. Pretty strong lineup there.
Matt Malick: Yeah, you guys did good. So, real quick—you’ve got one release out, what, two years old?
Jake Leg: It was last May—so just about 14 months.
Matt Malick: Okay, so about a year. Great, strong release. So good. What’s in the hopper? Anything you can talk about?
Jake Leg: We’re going into the studio in September for our sophomore release. We played about four songs from it on the main stage, but the album will be longer than that. So, new material is definitely on the way.
Matt Malick: Excellent. And now we’re handing the mic over to the man, the legend—and this is how I find out I’m out of the band. Sir, can you introduce yourself?
Eric Wigg: My name’s Eric Wigg. I’m a vocalist and guitar player for Jake Leg.
Matt Malick: We were just talking about the upcoming new release. You’re an amazing guitar player, singer, writer, and also a sound engineer. Are you going to be leading the charge on this one?
Eric Wigg: No, I was outvoted. I was told I have to play guitar and sing this time, which I’m happy to do.
Matt Malick: Oh, you’re serious—for a change. Okay. So you’ll be at eTown?
Jake Leg: That’s right.
Matt Malick: Are you working with Nick, or is this all a secret?
Jake Leg: Not a secret. We’ll be there with the capable hands of the eTown crew—James Tuttle and everyone there. They’ve got a great space. Comfortable, too, which is the biggest thing when you’re recording an album—feeling at home, trusting everyone you’re working with, and hoping for the best.
Matt Malick: We’re looking forward to it. Where can our listeners catch you next? Any big dates coming up?
Jake Leg: Great question. The very next place we’ll be is Missoula, Montana, toward the end of the month for River City Roots on August 23rd. In September, we’ll be at Winfield in Kansas. And for Colorado folks, we’ve got a really fun show coming up at Sunflower Farm in Longmont on September 5th. All the details are on our website.
Matt Malick: Okay, and that website is?
Jake Leg: jakelegmusic.com.
Matt Malick: There you go, folks. Thanks so much for joining us.
Jake Leg: Thanks, Matt.
Matt Malick: We’ll talk to you soon.
