THEM COULEE BOYS will perform Friday, July 1, at the Crystal Theatre in Crystal Falls. Clockwise from lower left, the members of the band are Soren Staff, Beau Janke, Stas Hable, Neil Krause and Jans Staff.

CRYSTAL FALLS — Them Coulee Boys will bring a blend of folk, punk, bluegrass and rock-n-roll to Crystal Theatre at 7 p.m. Friday, July 1.

The band straddles the line between pure and genuine ballads and a sweaty, leaping take on countrified rock-n-roll. They sing their conversational songs in four-part harmony, often with a banjo stomp and rhythm section punch that invites the audience to join in.

The name has a unique, folksy origin. Soren Staff and Beau Janke met as counselors at a Bible camp in northern Wisconsin in 2011. Both had grown up amidst the Upper Midwest river valleys and deep ravines — called coulees by French fur trappers. Another camp counselor started referring to the two as “them coulee boys.” The name stuck.

Spending their weeks playing songs with kids around a campfire led to weekends figuring out an Avett Brothers tune or classic country song. In 2013, they added Soren’s brother Jens on mandolin, and the stomping three-piece folk band played their first show as Them Coulee Boys. Four years later, Neil Krause joined to play acoustic and electric bass. In 2019, when Stas Hable joined on drums, Them Coulee Boys evolved into the full-on Americana rock band they are today.

Their trusty van has propelled them thousands of miles across the country and into the hearts of strangers, who tend to leave each show as family.

“Soaking in Them Coulee Boys’ brand of Americana is a fitting way to start the July 4th weekend,” said Kristin Underhill, Crystal Theatre’s new manager. A former camp staffer herself, Underhill has arranged lodging for the group at Fortune Lake Camp, where they are certain to feel right at home.

Advanced tickets may be purchased for $20 at the Ben Franklin store and The Twisted Twig in Crystal Falls, Iron County Chamber Office in Iron River, The Music Tree in Iron Mountain and online at thecrystaltheatre.com. Admission at the door is $25 for adults, $5 for children.