Be prepared for a taste of completely non-Western music to grace the Classic City courtesy of A Hawk and a Hacksaw, fronted by former Athens resident Jeremy Barnes.

Upon listening to A Hawk and a Hacksaw’s music, it is hard to believe that Barnes was once the former drummer of the now-defunct indie-rock band Neutral Milk Hotel.

With his new band, it seems that Barnes did a musical 180: His new band favors a sound that takes influence from Eastern Europe.

“[We play music] from Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary [and] Romania,” Barnes said. [We] integrate music of traditions and cultures.”

The change appears to be spontaneous, but Barnes insists otherwise.

“I just fell in love with the music from that region,” he said. “It was gradual, but it was pretty much an obsession for 10 years.”

His obsession also includes the instruments found in Eastern European music. A Hawk and a Hacksaw, currently touring as a quintet, utilizes the trumpet, tuba, violin, accordion and even the bouzouki, a Greek string instrument. In the past, it has used instruments like the cymbolom and mandolin.

Barnes originally created A Hawk and a Hacksaw to be a solo venture.

“I started doing it on my own,” Barnes said, “then gradually expanded the members.”

Multi-instrumentalist Heather Trost joined Barnes in 2004, creating the core duo of the group. After moving to Hungary and later to London, the duo had the opportunity to play music with a wide range of instrumentalists on their tours, which helped them create their unique, authentic sound.

Despite traveling the world, coming to Athens as part of A Hawk and a Hacksaw’s tour seemed natural to Barnes. What he looks forward to most: eating at the Grit. That is reason enough to welcome A Hawk and a Hacksaw and their traditional world music vibe.