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By Alan Sculley Last Word Features August 15. 2015 9:00AM Devil Makes Three performs at Britt Left to right: Pete Bernhard, Cooper McBean and Lucia Turino are The Devil Makes Three. Photo courtesy of Piper Ferguson The Devil Makes Three has been together for more than a decade, but guitarist and lead singer Pete Bernhard says he feels the group is only now hitting its stride. "This is what we've done with our whole adult lives," he says during a telephone interview. "And I feel like right now, we're sort of the best we've ever been, which is really cool. We've got an album we're really proud of ( refering to "I'm a Stranger Here," released in the fall 2013), and I think we're playing together on a much higher level than before." Up until work began on "I'm a Stranger," Devil Makes Three — Bernhard, banjo player Cooper McBean and bassist Lucia Turino — were pretty much a do-it-yourself endeavor. Looking to step up their game, the trio looked to producer Buddy Miller to collaborate on the songwriting and recording. The trio had done well while keeping its previous albums in house. Since it formed in 2002 in Santa Cruz, Calif., Devil Makes Three steadily improved as it developed its rollicking brand of rootsy acoustic music — which draws from bluegrass, country, jazz and pop — over the course of three studio albums: A self-titled debut in 2002, "Longjohns, Boots and a Belt" in 2004, "Do Wrong Right" in 2009 and a couple of live releases, "A Little Bit Faster and a Little Bit Loose" in 2006 and "Stomp and Smash: Live at the Mystic Theatre" in 2011. The group built a following that is now big enough to fill large clubs, theaters and other concert venues. The Devil Makes Three — along with Minnesota-based bluegrass and folk-rock band Trampled by Turtles — will perform a double bill at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18, in the Britt Pavilion, 350 First St., Jacksonville. String band Ol' Mount'n Due — Larry Grose on banjo, Jon Miner on acoustic guitar, Rex Bufalino on fiddle and Will Shapiro on upright bass — will perform gruff and lively folk and jazz at 6 p.m. in Britt's Performance Garden. Tickets are $48 for reserved seats, $44 for standing room only, $38 for lawn seating, $32 for ages 12 and younger, and can be purchased online at brittfest.org, at the Britt box office, 216 W. Main St., or by calling 800-882-7488. Bernhard, Cooper and Turino decided that it would take working with an outside producer to take that step up in the recording studio, Bernhard says. "We know what we can do ourselves," Bernhard says. "There's not much mystery there. We did all we could do and kind of reached our limit. We wanted to try something new." Enter Miller, an acclaimed artist in his own right, who has built his own impressive resume of production projects. He had a big impact as a song editor and sounding board for the songs. Prior to setting up shop at Easy Eye Sound Studio — a Nashville facility owned by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys — Devil Makes Three brought in 20 completed demos. It was far more material than Bernhard had ever written for one of the trio's albums. Miller took the role of choosing the 10 songs for "I'm a Stranger Here," bringing them from demo forms to polished tracks. "The thing Buddy did the most was edit heavily," Bernhard says. "He'd say, 'Why is this part of the song? Why isn't there a break here? It feels like this harmony isn't right. Why don't we extend this part, because it's cool.' He just got in there with a pair of scissors. We got down to the bare bones of what was happening." What stands out are songs that are sharper and catchier than ever. Frisky bluegrass-flavored romps such as "Dead Body Moving" and "Worse or Better" and rustic ballads like "A Moment's Rest" have long been staples of the group's music. There are surprises as well. "Hellelu" takes a twangy, old-time country direction, "Forty Days" holds some New Orleans-style ragtime with the help of horns, and "Hand Back Down" is a slow and spooky, ultra-catchy melody grooving through a steady thump of rhythm. "We'll be playing something off of every record," Bernhard says. "But mostly our shows will lean toward the newest record. It's the one we're all excited about, so we're playing it a lot." http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20150815/ENTERTAINMENT/150819871 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->