Rock'n'reel. Punk-folk. Country music from many countries... just some of the ways to describe this band. Fiddle, guitars, bass and drums with loads of power and emotion.

“...one of the most innovative world beat bands...”
-- National Public Radio

For 25 years, BiL have been innovators in bringing “folk music” kicking and screaming to rock audiences (and rock music to screaming folk audiences!) BiL's many instrumental dance tunes incorporate global influences, rhythms, and melodies that are guaranteed to keep the feet moving. Original songs stick in the mind long after the music is over. The players improvise freely yet stay in sync, playing a vital mix of original and traditional material that sounds fresh and highly identifiable. The group and the individual musicians have won over 20 Minnesota Music Awards, and toured throughout the US and in Europe. The band's current lineup sees the return of original lead singer Todd Menton and the addition of masterful guitarist Dean Magraw. Enthusiastic, powerful, technically brilliant, playing a wealth of instruments, acoustic and electric, Boiled In Lead routinely blows away preconceptions about independent ways to rock.

Robin “Adnan” Anders (percussion) embodies a career that spans from signing to Capitol Records in the 70s through two instructional videos, the trance drumming projects Blue Buddha and Omaiyo and his collaboration with Cuban singer Gloria “La Niña” Rivera. He's also recorded with world music tricksters 3 Mustaphas 3 and accompanied Greg Brown on two albums for Red House.

Dean Magraw (guitar) joins the band after a number of guest appearances. He engages his experienced ears in the pursuit of soaring melodies, rhythmic momentum, and expansive harmonies, while squeezing sympathetic sonorities from the palette of uber-sensitive guitar strings in service to the unity of the BiL sound.

Todd Menton (vocals, guitar, mandolin, bodhran, whistle) joined BiL soon after their 1st LP, and was the lead singer on the classic albums From the Ladle to the Grave and Orb. He left the band in 1991 and hit the Irish pub circuit. Todd has released two solo CDs on the New Folk label, and is featured on Katie McMahon's album Shine.

Drew Miller (bass guitar, dulcimer) founded the band in 1983, and has been to all the gigs. His solid-body electric dulcimer adds mountain-inspired drones to the mix. Drew started the Omnium label in 1991 to release BiL's and other “world music that rocks” and also works as a graphic designer. In 2000, he was profiled in Bass Player Magazine.

David Stenshoel (fiddle, saxophone) enjoys playing many different styles, from “hot club” swing to Persian classical music. An original member of the band, he left in 1990 to raise his daughter; but returned seven years later, bringing a heightened level of improvisation to the stage and presenting the melodies with lyricism and authority.

• “Silver ...is a fine addition to the BiL catalog, with bristling takes on trad Celtic tales of mayhem, doom, and excessive drinking, and the odd dash of Algerian rai and Zeppelinesque thunder. There's even a pair of local angles: John Van Orman's harrowing tale of Death cruising Hennepin Avenue, and Menton's equally unsettling account of aquatic aggression in ‘Silver Carp.’” — Rick Mason, City Pages
• “...the most important folk-rock band to appear since the 1970s...required listening...” — MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide (1998)
• “...a smoking, surprising, commanding combo... Nobody roars, does a jig or a Balkan boogie quite like Boiled in Lead.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune (1998)
• “...the prime purveyor of a style of Celtic music infused with punk-rock attitude... ...one of the best bands Minnesota's ever produced. (When they play) all-acoustic, ...don't be fooled into thinking that means “quiet;” even without amplification, Boiled In Lead can summon up furious punk-folk energy.” — The Onion (2004)
• “It seems very likely that Boiled in Lead may someday be seen as one of the more interesting and important bridges between world music and rock, with an influence that stretches far beyond its actual record sales.” — All Music Guide
• “...Boiled In Lead know how to update the traditional, making it accessible to a contemporary 'what? Me-listen-to-folk?' audience while never losing track of what makes it traditional in the first place...” — Alternative Press (1995)
• “Not mere armchair musical enthusiasts, BiL offers us instead a colorful, enticing, and ingeniously skewed musical treasure map.” — CMJ Jackpot pick for Orb (1990)
• “godlike...quite, quite brilliant.” — Salisbury Journal (UK)
• Orb is “one of the most cosmopolitan collections of the year.” — Q
• “The more you hear them, the more sense they make.” — Ken Hunt, Folk Roots (UK)
• “The traditional material is imaginatively selected and properly played, i.e., with skill and gusto but without reverence.” — Leeds Other Paper (UK)
• “...the energy, inventiveness, and power of a BiL show are unique.” — LA Reader
• “Minneapolis' finest (and yes, we are including Prince)...speed-folk with Gothic overtones meets 3 Mustaphas 3” — City Limits (London)
• “...rather than underlay their world music research with a scholarly appreciation of a tune's cultural origins, the band will dive whole-heartedly into a loose re-interpretation of the mood that caused the tune to be written in the first place. And that makes the band's art vital, honest, and immensely enjoyable.” — Alex Varty (Vancouver)
• “...may well be the best folk-punk band around.” — Geoffrey Himes, Washington Post (1989)
• “The Minneapolis quartet has mastered the art of blurring musical boundaries. And they make it sound like fun. From the Ladle... is one of the year's best releases...” — Chicago Tribune
• “Irish and Celtic folk music played with amazing balls and fire...even the violins rock.” — Steve Albini, Matter (1985)