Brave Combo

Brave Combo formed in 1979 in Denton, Texas, a college town that seemed to encourage their particular brand of musical restlessness. They started as a group of students who liked polka, Latin rhythms, and a bit of avant-garde noise, and decided to play them all at once. Their sound was never easy to pin down, which made them hard to market but interesting to follow.

They've put out more than thirty albums, including early work like 1983's 'Polkasonic' and later experiments like 1999's 'Accordion in the Outback'. Their version of 'Hey Jude' became something of a calling card, a faithful but slightly off-kilter take that showed how they could handle a familiar melody without smoothing out their own edges. Other songs like 'Always Vienna' and 'Baby, Baby, Baby Don't' carried that same playful, genre-hopping energy.

The band has worked with a rotating lineup over time, with Carl Finch on accordion being a consistent presence. They've also played with people like David Byrne and Willie Nelson, collaborations that make sense given their own eclectic tastes.