Have you FERD the news?

Former Hackensaw Boy Ferd Moyse has a new trio with banjoist Matt Morelock and bassist Chris Stevens. It’s called FERD. 

Touring in support of its 2023 debut, Feelin’ Like the Wind, and workshopping new songs on stage, the band wrapped a short run of gigs Nov. 11 – Moyse’s birthday – inside Columbus, Ohio’s Rambling House where some 40 fans were treated to an intimate show in a venue the size of a large living room.

For more than two hours – across two sets that bled into early Sunday morning – FERD worked to define what can be called modern, old-time music at a new-fangled urban hoedown.

“They say you only get a certain number of Saturday nights,” Moyse said after the setbreak. “I’m glad for this one.”

Though FERD is a three-piece, it never has fewer than four instruments in the mix. Here’s why:

Moyse sits on a suitcase/kick drum at center stage, singing and playing fiddle that sounds like it’s playing from a wax cylinder (this is a very good thing) while manipulating a pedal with his right heel and a tambourine with the toe of his left boot. Dude works really hard to create ramshackle rhythm while serving as the trio’s center of gravity and sweat was pouring down his face and neck a couple of songs into the band’s hour-long first set.

On one side of him is Morelock, a non-traditional banjo player who uses his instrument for leads and rhythm along with flourishes to accentuate the music. He occasionally plays mouth harp and a wrought-iron triangle to weave playful, rustic sounds in to FERD’s sonic template. Morelock is like a rural hype man, singing joyful harmonies, making hilarious faces and striking over-exaggerated poses as Marty Feldman eyes betray the gag.

In contrast on the other side is silent Stevens. With his face covered by a long, heavy beard and with a hat pulled down over his forehead, the bassist looks intently at Moyse and Morelock for unspoken cues that allow him to give his compatriots the sonic floor they need to do their respective thangs.

And their thang is uncomplicated music delivered via intricate musicianship on raucous songs with lyrics such as “Classic Beauty” and “Flyin’ off the Rails,” which sounded like it might, but obviously stayed on track. And there are hard-swinging instrumentals such as “Blues a Bébé,” which demonstrate triangles and mouth harps are serious instruments.

When FERD plays, listeners are transported to another time and place. So when FERD was done playing, and I snapped back to 2023, I still half-expected to find a horse, rather than a car, in my parking space.