The White Cheddar Boys @ The Victorian Dining Room at The North Star Bar.

Nearly every Monday evening, the North Star Bar hosts free, acoustic performances by local acts in their second floor Victorian Dining Room. It’s a small, intimate space that has evoked some wonderful performances. See here for upcoming events. Our writer Jumah Chaguan and photographer G.W. Miller III attended this week’s portion of the series.

In the hot and humid second floor at North Star, the White Cheddar Boys got at it with the banjo and guitar.

Russ McNasty, a member of this Appalachian-style duo, put his guitar above his head and played it like a rock star. The crowd laughed and applauded and stomped along with the country rhythm.

“Got some chickens in my sack/Got the bloodhounds on my track/Keep my skillet good and greasy/all the time,” sang Huey West, the banjo-playing member of the band.

The White Cheddar Boys followed that song with more anti-establishment songs, like “Walking Boss.” Despite the fact that they haven’t played inside a venue for a while, the guys didn’t skip a beat. While West adjusted the new strings he bought for Mandy, his beloved banjo, the musicians asked the audience not to forget to drop a tip in the Pabst pail or buy one of their CDs.

The duo often perform outdoors, busking in places like Rittenhouse Square. But they haven’t had much luck lately due to the incessant June/July rains and hazy, lazy weather.

For West, this chance to play at a club instead of busking in the sun was surreal.

“It’s a fluke,” he said. “The guy in the other band (The Gallerist) asked me to open. It’s been hot and rainy. People are not tipping.”

Russ McNasty grabbed his guitar and raised it in a vertical position high up in the air. The duo then played an amped up version of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.”

John Horchos, who watched from the audience, first saw the White Cheddar Boys at the train station. He wants to convince his fiance to hire the band for their upcoming wedding.

“They are the perfect thing to get people jazzed up,” said Horchos.

After the set, Horchos walked over and bought a CD. Maybe he can use it to convince his soon-to-be bride that perhaps there’s a bit of country deep inside us all.