"The origin story of Bandits on the Run reads like a New York tall tale — a young cellist catching the late train home happens upon a busker singing and playing on the subway platform, the two strike up a conversation about music that becomes an all-night Brooklyn adventure. The meeting forms a bond that quickly leads to musical collaboration, then the cellist’s poet friend finds herself in New York and moves into an open room in the cellist’s apartment. The three strike up an instant creative alchemy, they put on some bandanas, take to the subways, and the rest is history.

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Six years later, Bandits on the Run has evolved into a staple of the New York music scene, both above and below ground. In those six years the Bandits have come of age together, their music evolving and expanding into a truly unique and revolutionary sound. The guitarist, Adrian Blake Enscoe, now employs his feet as their percussion section, using a suitcase drum and foot tambourine. The cellist, Sydney Shepherd, now writes full-on string arrangements that summon the spirit of George Martin. The poet, Regina Strayhorn, is now an accordionist, melodica player, glockenspieler, and plays a mean shaky banana. 

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When performing as the Bandits, the trio all adopt alter-egos: Roy Dodger, Bonanza Jellyfish, and Clarissa. Why the wacky names? “We chose to use aliases because what self-respecting Bandit doesn’t have a Bandit name?” says Adrian Blake Enscoe/Roy Dodger. “Our names are all inspired by figures in literature or pop culture that inspire us, and our bandit ‘characters’ are basically us with some slight exaggerations and magical twists,”  says Sydney Shepherd/Bonanza Jellyfish. “The names also give us a certain freedom and allow us to not take ourselves so seriously while performing,” adds Regina Strayhorn/Clarissa."