Myrtle Beach’s House of Blues hosted the Pittsburgh, PA-based folk rock band, Rusted Root on August 20.

Those who caught the show got a sense of the earthy, free-spirited energy the band evokes.

As an ensemble of six, most of the members of Rusted Root employ multiple talents. From harmonicas to hand drums to mandolins, the band illustrates the ease with which true musicians can interchange instruments.

Rusted Root is a very vocal-intensive group. This is rare in the off-mainstream music scene. The primary singers, including front man Mike Glabicki, belt out haunting words and sounds reminiscent of primitive tribal incantations. The voices, along with a heavy Afro-Latin percussion base that makes one think of a drum circle gone pro, reflect the earthy atmosphere of the music, a place where nature gets downright funky.

The members of Rusted Root began playing together in the early 1990s, releasing their first album, Cruel Sun in 1994. By the end of that year, they had signed with Mercury Records and had released their second full-length album, When I Woke. Hits like “Send Me on My Way,” “Martyr” and “Ecstasy” eventually turned When I Woke platinum.

Rusted Root’s latest album, Welcome to My Party, which was released in 2002, has also proven quite popular among the band’s grassroots following.

Although many audience members were probably disappointed that they didn’t get to hear the band’s token song, “Send Me on My Way,” other avid “Root heads” will note that “Cat Turned Blue” with a hint of Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower,” “Back to the Earth” and “Laugh as the Sun” made the evening at the House of Blues worth every penny.