The Podunk Ramblers stand under bright lights. The stage floor shakes from the sound waves of their performance, but the band's focus is on the crowd. The sea of people smiling and enjoying themselves is what it's all about.
What began as casual jam sessions between University of South Carolina friends has evolved into a busy schedule of festivals, local venues, and weekly gigs across the state for the Podunk Ramblers.
“Everyone can and should play bluegrass music,” said Ethan Masset, mandolinist and vocalist of the Podunk Ramblers. “It’s a beautiful thing, and it’s all about just connecting people.”
The group played its first show in March 2025, which was a 45-minute set at Tin Roof live music bar. Tripp Sponseller, banjo player in the Podunk Ramblers, said the band has come a long way since then.
“We practice at least once a week and play gigs once a week-ish now, so that’s helped us progress so much,” Sponseller said.
The band's name came together as they prepared for their first show. Masset said "Podunk" came from an antique store that Sponseller found in Little Mountain, South Carolina, called Podunk Holler, and “Ramblers" seemed to fit with their bluegrass sound.
“It’s just a nice name," Masset said. "You know what music you’re about to hear."
Cade Stocker, guitarist and vocalist for the Podunk Ramblers, said performing has become easier over time for the band. Dancing and having fun on stage helped him get over his stage fright, he said.
Masset had a similar experience dealing with performance anxiety.
“When you get those nerves, you don't know what's gonna happen because everyone's nervous up there," Masset said. "But then when it turns into a good thing, it’s just the best feeling."
Masset met bassist Thomas Johnson and electric guitarist Sutton Jenkins in a band they had previously been members of.
They then met Sponseller through the Carolina Mountaineering and White Water Club. They became friends on a white water rafting trip, Masset said.
After their initial meeting, Sponseller and Stocker formed a bluegrass and folk music club that the members of the band started attending on Friday nights. Some members of the club then played for the Carolina Mountaineering and White Water Club formal at the end of the fall 2025 semester.
Masset said the bluegrass club thrived on people who played many different instruments, wanting to learn how to jam.
"It built a sense of camaraderie from the beginning, and then it was just easy to turn it into a band from that," Masset said.
Playing in the band was hard at first, but working with other people helped him improve and feel comfortable, Stocker said .
Stocker's interest in bluegrass and music started with his mother. He always wanted to be in a band because she was a part of a group that played in Columbia, he said.
“My mom got me into Billy Strings, and that got me kind of obsessed with it,” Stocker said.
Sponseller was drawn to the genre for a different reason.
“I like how kind of down-to-earth the genre is,” he said. "I like to spend a lot of time outdoors, and there's a lot of overlap between kind of that lifestyle and bluegrass music."
Stocker said Hazelwood Brewing Company in Lexington, South Carolina has been the band's most consistent gig, and they helped them book other early gigs and meet people interested in bluegrass.
“It’s a pretty small community," Stocker said. "Everyone knows each other, and everyone's super nice.”
Masset said that balancing music with personal responsibilities such as school and work has been a challenge for the band members.
“It can just be a lot of additional work outside of my actual job, but we manage to split the load pretty evenly,” Sponseller said.
While some members focus more on certain aspects of running the band such as finding gigs or running the Instagram, it's a group effort.
The Podunk Ramblers aim to carry on and preserve the traditional style of bluegrass.
“We’re just a couple of guys having a good time playing some bluegrass music,” Sponseller said.
Masset also expressed his fondness for playing with his band members.
"Jamming has always been, like, the way that I've soaked up the most enjoyment of music, just playing with other people and meeting people that care about it a lot. And, yeah, so I guess it's kind of like a part of why I loved this band so much," Masset said.