Since forming nearly a decade ago, the Bridge has been an insular band.
The six members of the Baltimore roots rock/jam band have self-produced three studio albums and, in general, haven't taken much direction from outsiders.
"We just wanted to do it ourselves," said mandolinist and beat-boxer Kenny Liner. "Nobody that we wanted to work with wanted to work with us."
The Bridge did fine on its own, routinely selling out the Federal Hill club, the 8x10, touring for Phish bassist Mike Gordon's solo project and drawing more than 1,000 to a Thanksgiving show at Rams Head Live. Saturday, the band plays the Hot August Blues Festival at Oregon Ridge Park.
When the band members began working on their new album, they decided to bring in a new voice: Steve Berlin, a member of the Grammy-winning rock band Los Lobos. As a studio musician and producer, Berlin has worked with everyone from Paul Simon to Sheryl Crow.
"I love his work," said Bridge guitarist and lead singer Cris Jacobs. "Everything the guy's ever produced to me sounds amazing."
The Bridge met with Berlin at the Bunker Recording Studio in Timonium a few months ago and played some of the new material for him. Berlin immediately began suggesting different song arrangements and brought his own thoughts to the rehearsal. Instead of working over the songs until they had them down pat, Berlin said,
" 'Do me a favor, don't practice them too much,' " Jacobs said. " 'As soon as you start to feel like you know everything you're doing, stop playing it.' It's a different approach than we've ever taken."
With past albums, the Bridge has dug in, spending as many as 30 days in the studio nitpicking segments of each song.
"We'd do something, hate it, do it again, love it, come back the next day and hate it," Jacobs said. "There was no deadline. Nobody was telling us we had to make a decision."
This summer, the Bridge traveled to Jackpot! Recording Studio in Portland, Ore., and recorded about a dozen songs in just 11 days with Berlin, Liner said. He hopes the album will be released at the beginning of next year.
"Having Steve was a huge asset," Liner said. "We're all really proud of the album, and we're counting down the days until we can release it."
The new album, which doesn't yet have a name — at least not one the band is comfortable with sharing — will be self-released, Liner said. The band has parted ways with Hyena Records, which put out their 2008 album "Blind Man's Hill."
Berlin helped the band reshape its earthy, roots-rock sound, Liner said.
"It's a very different face of the Bridge," Liner said. "We're writing very different songs. We're going to surprise a lot of people with this album, in a good way."
Brad Selko, who runs the Hot August Blues Festival, said he likes the way the Bridge combines roots music with blues and jazz, while adding improvised passages and other jam-leaning flourishes to the mix. No two set lists are the same, which helped the band build a wide fan base. Live, the band members trade solo, with Liner beat boxing and playing the mandolin at the same time and Jacobs singing in his soothing, whiskey-drenched voice.
"The music is great," Selko said. "Anybody who's heard it loves it. They've broken out of Baltimore, which is very difficult for most bands to do. … I'm really pleased to have them."
If you go
The Bridge performs at the Hot August Blues Festival Saturday at Oregon Ridge Park, 13401 Beaver Dam Road in Cockeysville. The lineup includes Lyle Lovett, Keb' Mo' and Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears. Tickets are $40 in advance and $50 at the gate. Call 877-321-3378 or go to hotaugustblues.com.