Bluegrass music does not feel strange in the Estonian cultural space because this branch of country music mixed with the music of different American settlers. Europeans who emigrated to America brought their own traditional music (Irish, Scottish, English, Netherlandish, German, Swedish, etc.) with them - the style is called "old-timey" - which has blended together with black music like blues, gospel and spirituals.

Robirohi plays traditional and melodic bluegrass/acoustic country music and their repertoire includes several spiritual or gospel songs, folk melodies and swing-flavored country songs. They play many translated old English songs and tunes from the Estonian hymn book. They try to perform as many songs as possible in their mother tongue and play many Estonian traditional songs in addition to tunes from America and Sweden.

People often ask them why the band is called "Robirohi". "Robi" is the nickname for Robert who formed the band in 1995 and "rohi" means "grass" in Estonian which refers to the second half of the word "bluegrass" - the style of music which brought the band members together and unites them to this day. This music which originates from American folk (Old-timey) music is a subgenre of original country music which is also referred to as down-to-earth grass-roots music.

Robirohi has been playing together since 1995 and has released 8 different albums (CDs) and a concert video (DVD). During these years, the band has played in churches, community centres, schools, prisons, hospitals, nursery homes, concert halls, at Christian events and gospel, country, bluegrass, folk and other festivals both in their homeland Estonia and elsewhere - Finland, Sweden, Norway, Czech Republic, Germany, France, Northern Ireland and the Netherlands. They have also performed at the EWOB (European World of Bluegrass) festival several times. They have been visited the cradle area of American Old-Time music - The Appalachian Mountains’ area of US. Southern States and the Music City of Nashville,TN.

All these venues have their own aura or internal climate which means that every concert is unique because the audience is always different.

Their repertoire includes different songs and tunes - ranging from fast and rhythmic to slow and heartfelt. Regardless of these differences, the sound of all their songs is down-to-earth and country-like which is characteristic to the band. The lyrics carry a predominantly positive message which emphasises humane values. In between the songs, the musicians talk about their music, themselves and their experiences.

PERSONNEL of Robirohi:
Robert Kreutzwald ----- guitar, banjo, vocals
Aivar Nurmik ----- mandolin, banjo, vocals
Indrek Vainu ----- dobro, autoharp, guitar, vocals
Märt Silla ----- fiddle, vocals
Jurgis Kazjava ----- upright bass

CONTACTS:
- email: robirohi [at-symbol] hot.ee     NB: [at-symbol] = @
- phone: +372 5019247 (Robert)
- phone: +372 51903664 (Indrek)

TECHNICAL RIDER:
The band is fully acoustic, fully unplugged (no plugin availability in our instruments).
Stage scheme is very simple and primitive - we are using one central microphone for the whole band. This requires a cardioid condenser microphone. We perform in a semicircle around this central microphone. We use an AT4033 microphone ourselves but essentially any equivalent model will work.
If possible, the sound engineer should identify and eliminate the most significant feedback frequencies for this microphone in advance.
For larger stages or outdoor settings, we also need a microphone for the double bass - either a bass microphone attached to the bridge or even a standard dynamic microphone placed in between tailpiece and body with some padding.