The Califon Hellbenders are middle aged guys in a band, built for fun, not speed, who love playing for our friends and neighbors and celebrating our community. What is a Hellbender? Simply put, it is a type of salamander found in the eastern United States. But the reason for this name is not our love of regional amphibians, but rather because the word just sounds like pure Rock & Roll, with an easygoing vibe that suits our persona. The unofficial description of our style is expressed as “good time folk-a-billy jam pop dance party rock & roll”, with unconventional instrumentation that weaves together the acoustic and electric, old timey and modern, with a pulsating undercurrent of tasty banjo ever-present. And it suggests a certain bendy looseness of musical interpretation inherent in our exploration of favorite tunes from across pretty much any genre, with a particular soft spot for ‘80s rock & pop, ballads, B-side classic rock, the Grateful Dead, and Kenny Loggins. Mostly from the fair borough of Califon (Jason Beard, Brian Goad, and Dan Hemberger), with imported bass and vocal skills via Mr. Pat Walsh from Lawrenceville, we really don’t like to travel too far. Our roots are in our Califon community. We play what we like, which given our collective 200 years’+ of living experience, can cover a lot of ground. The Hellbenders try to give people a reason to get their bodies moving, but are also known to explore the soft underbelly of music across these genres. You’ve heard a lot of these tunes, and we’re guessing there are some you have not. Even if you have, you may not recognize them at first. Have fun with it! And feel free to make a request, but don’t expect too much…these lizards enjoy their comfort zone. All we promise is a really good time.