Rob Ward and John Langston walked the halls of the Moorestown Friends School outside Camden sharing a mutual passion for music. Their mutual passions would fuse, and spark the chain of events that led to the formation of the acoustic quintet known as the “Snake Brothers.”

Ward, violinist, mandolin and guitar player, and Langston, vocalist, guitar and banjo player, played as “Smoke Country Jam” in bars and clubs throughout Cape, Atlantic, and Cumberland counties since 1974.

The duo picked up Eric Waltman, acoustic and electric bass player, in a bar in Millville, and continued honing their original, bluegrass music in venues throughout south Jersey.

A harmonica player by the name of Mark Ternosky would slither his way into “Smoke Country Jam” sets whenever the opportunity arose. In 1986, Ternosky joined permanently, and the quartet changed their name to the “Snake Brothers.”

The band’s name is an offspring of a pseudonym, Ziggy Snake, Langston occasionally used during early, solo performances. As each new member joined the ranks of the Snake Brothers they were bequeathed a reptilian nickname.

John “Ziggy Snake” Langston, Mark “Real A Snake” Ternosky, Rob “Plum R Snake” Ward, and Eric “Iggy Snake” Waltman played as a quartet, until they added a fifth member, Ernie “Sidewinder, King of the Side Men” Trionpho, five years ago. Trionpho plays with several other area bands, filling in for performances whenever possible; hence, his nickname.

Trionpho, according to Langston, is the Snake Brothers’ “young gun,” who “plays the pants off the guitar.”

The Snake Brothers have traded the long, sweaty hours, playing to drunken bar patrons of their younger years for the calmer atmosphere of civic functions and festivals. This change in venue preference courted the obligations of family and work, as each member, except Trionpho, kept their day job.

Langston, a nurse, Ternosky, a real estate agent, Ward, a plumbing supply manager, Waltman, a retired probation officer, and Trionpho, a professional musician and business owner, play without the expectation to become millionaires, and simply, says Langston, “because it’s a lot of fun.”

The musical styles of the Snake Brothers range from Bluegrass to a-capella, rock and roll to gospel. They play mostly original music, but cover “obscure songs by even more obscure artists,” according to Ternosky.

The Snake Brothers third album, a full-length live set recorded during an evening show in Delaware, is set for release this spring. You can purchase their two previous albums, “Hissing in the Wind” and “South Jersey Waltz” through their website, www.snakebrothers.com.

The band plays throughout southern New Jersey from mid-April to November. On Thursday, Aug. 2 you can hear them at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church’s
“On the Lawn” concert series from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Third Avenue and 96th Street in Stone Harbor.

Catch their performance on JFK Boulevard and the promenade in Sea Isle City during the “Concert Under the Stars” series on Aug. 29 from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

The Snake Brothers also perform at Avalon’s Indian Summer festival in October. Check out their full schedule at www.snakebrothers.com.