“We’re just a string band. No more, no less,” says The Fine and Dandy Trio mandolin player Nick “Buxton” Brown. “We don’t have a drummer. We do all acoustic. We do bluegrass, old time, folk, roots, Americana, some blues, some Eighties tunes, a couple contemporary covers. We do some originals that don’t exactly fit a genre. Whatever strikes us, really. We just play with the instruments we’ve got—guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, bass.”

Don’t let the name fool you: though they’ve dubbed themselves a trio, the band’s number swells and ebbs from practice to practice, show to show.

“When Ben Truboff and I started started doing open mics, we gave ourselves the name in hopes that someday we could fill our crappy band with a third member,” says Brown. “Ben left for a year to do AmeriCorps, and I met [guitarist and singer] Tom Wraight and he liked the idea of a two-man [group] and doing open mics and learning songs, and playing for the sake of playing. Eventually Ben returned and we were a trio for about a month. Then Louis Freilicher joined on fiddle and not long after Amato Zinno jumped on the bass, and we thought we might as well keep the name. Not everybody shows up to all gigs, so we like to promise that at the very least you’ll get a trio.”

The crew began jamming at UMass on old American roots music, bonding over artists like Doc Watson and tunes like “Tom Dooley” and “Long Black Veil.” Buxton says they were playing just to play, and feeling their way around their instruments.

“We ran through old kids’ tunes, Beatles covers, and stuff like that,” he says. “And neither of us could sing all that well. Eventually Ben learned to play some banjo, so we would switch instruments often. It was always just to enjoy singing and playing. We never thought this would become anything. Ben even got kicked out of the dorms for getting written up so often for noise complaints.”

These days Wraight handles most of the songwriting duties, and serves as guitar player and primary vocalist. Buxton contributes some tunes as well, including fan favorite “Monkey Time Band,” which he wrote in five minutes before a practice session. Buxton says the band works through and fleshes out material during rehearsals, often leaning on Zinno, who is trained in jazz and composition. All members try to contribute vocals “as often as possible.” As always, they invite everyone to join them on street corners or at music halls for some “whiskey-drinkin’, foot-stompin’ tomfoolery.”

The Fine and Dandy Trio join Bella’s Bartok at the Iron Horse in Northampton Friday, September 24th, at 10 p.m. For songs and information, visit www.thefineanddandytrio.com.