The Innocents are an Americana/Country/Rock Band from Bozeman, Montana. The group consists of front man Rob Lethert on guitar and lead vocals, Kenny Stancil on drums, Chelsea Hunt on fiddle, Justin Bauer on electric bass, and Marcus Engstrom on lead guitar and baritone guitar. Their music is a blend of country rock and Americana. Stancil and Bauer lay down a solid groove while Chelsea Hunt and Marcus Engstrom play smooth melodic leads that fill in the spaces in all the right places. Add Rob Lethert’s strong gravely voice and you have something really special that makes for a great live show!
The Innocents released their first self-titled CD in December, 2014 and are very excited to be out on the road promoting it.
All the band members have played in bands for several years with Rob Lethert and Ken Stancil playing together for over ten years. “The Innocents” is the first album for fiddle player Chelsea Hunt, bassist Justin Bauer, a Wisconsin transplant, and Marcus Engstrom all the way from Sweden. Chelsea, Justin, and Marcus also bring experience from other bands. Justin played bass guitar for a heavy metal band called VXIpenny prior to joining The Innocents. Marcus Engstrom brings a wealth of experience in playing lead guitar both in Sweden and in the greater Bozeman area with a country band called www.twang. Chelsea Hunt has and continues to add her flare with several other music groups as time allows. She summarizes the beauty of playing with The Innocents by stating, “it is the collaborative writing process that allows each member to craft their part within each song”.
Though the name, The Innocents, sounds seemingly mundane, the name itself has a bit of a sordid past. In Montana history, The Innocents were the name adopted by members of a group of road agents, known outside the group as The Stranglers, according to Phyllis Smith’s “Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley: A History.” The group, led by Bannack Sherriff Henry Plummer, used “I am innocent” as a code phrase. Many of The Innocents songs reflect this interesting history.
