Blond and boyish Brad Tucker, a skateboarding Island-grown guitar player who also carries a fast and fine tune, was flipping through the dictionary one winter night with his then-roommate, Vinnie Padalino, who plays the washboard. The two were searching for a name for a band they wanted to form when they came upon the word ballyhoo.

“It said it was a town in Ireland known for rowdy crowds and lots of noise and ruthless folks,” said Mr. Tucker in an interview outside the tiny one-room guesthouse he shares just with his dog, Murphy, on Tuesday evening.

A word that evoked a sense of energy and excitement seemed logical for a band that wanted to shake things up. And it only got better. “It turned out [that] the first pinball game ever made was called Ballyhoo, [and] Playboy Magazine was Ballyhoo before it was Playboy . . . It’s all kinds of stuff. It’s a bait fish, it means nonsense . . . .” said Mr. Tucker, letting his list trail off. “It just kind of fit, I guess.”

And so Mr. Tucker, Mr. Padalino, banjo player Matthew Lozier, mandolin player Josh Campbell and upright bass player and vocalist Tauras Biskus became Ballywho, spelling tweaked for individuality, to bring some welcome noise and nonsense to the Vineyard in the form of bluegrass, blues and folk performances.

A common definition is excited commotion, which is exactly what the Vineyard band Ballywho stirs up during musical romps through venues across the Island. A stroll through the bustling Tisbury Street Fair, a jam at their favorite haunt on Squid Row in Menemsha, or a private gig at the wedding of a close friend: everywhere this young band seems to bring out the musical energy in everyone around them.

On Sunday, they will gather for a 7 p.m. show at The Yard in Chilmark to entertain the crowds in a different setting from their usual Sunday night stage in Menemsha. It will be their first performance in that location.

“It’s kind of a Chilmark thing I guess,” said Mr. Tucker of the band’s up-Island popularity. Ballywho became the familiar Chilmark musical act for their weekly gigs outside of the Menemsha Texaco, which began as a rehearsal spot. “None of us really had a good practice space, so we started practicing in Menemsha. That’s how the whole thing caught on. People just started showing up,” he said.

Their music appeals to almost anyone. “You’ll see anybody from two months old to eighty years old,” said Mr. Tucker. “That’s why this stuff is the best . . . I’ve heard a million people come and say,‘Oh I didn’t even know I liked bluegrass.’”

He continued: “It’s also the kind of thing where anybody is welcome to just walk up and start playing with us, too,” though he admitted that it’s sometimes difficult for people to keep up. One of Ballywho’s most faithful fans is Bette Carroll, grandmother of Texaco owner Marshall Carroll. “She plays like three or four tunes with us,” said Mr. Tucker, pointing out a picture on his laptop of a tiny 80-something-year-old woman gripping a harmonica. “She lives for it, she absolutely loves it. She’s the first one there and the last one to leave, every single time. Whenever we’re not going to make it, we call down there to let them know, just so they can tell her.”

Mr. Tucker’s photo collection shows fans on the opposite end of the age spectrum as well. One photo shows a picture of Mr. Biskus’ young son, who plays along at most Menemsha performances, holding a miniature fiddle. “He doesn’t really hit too many notes yet, but he has the idea,” said Mr. Tucker.

Mr. Tucker’s own musical interest dates back to before he can remember. “My dad played a lot [of music], so there were always instruments kicking around and I just had an affinity for it right away. Like from birth, I’d sit around and beat on a guitar.” He picked up a love of blues from his father, but remembered hating country music growing up. “I just kind of threw [bluegrass] in the same bag, but it’s completely different.” He realized this years later, after meeting Mr. Lozier and Mr. Campbell at the Agricultural Fair three years ago. They joined Mr. Tucker and his roommate, Mr. Padalino, to form Ballywho. Mr. Biskus got onboard after spontaneously joining the group in a barroom performance. “It’s funny, I never really played bluegrass until I started playing with these guys,” said Mr. Tucker. “We’re not the best bluegrass musicians. There are guys who make us individually look ridiculous, but as a whole I think we have a really good sound. We’re just used to each other, [and] kind of have the same idea of what we want. I can see us going on until we’re sixty.”

Ballywho has performed in other parts of New England, including Boston, but they mostly consider themselves a Vineyard band. In addition to their Sunday night Menemsha concerts, they’ve landed gigs with Livingston and Kate Taylor, and performed a pirate-themed concert aboard a float at last year’s Fourth of July parade in Edgartown. To celebrate a friend’s birthday, they performed aboard the Quitsa Strider fishing boat while it was docked in Menemsha harbor, for a crowd gathered on the docks. “It’s one of the biggest boats in the harbor,” said Mr. Tucker. “And when we were done playing we all just jumped off the roof of the boat ... we dropped all of our stuff and jumped in [the water].”

Their next goal is to play on a boat at sea. “We want to play in a nice sailboat, or some kind of boat,” said Mr. Tucker. “We’ve had millions of promises but nobody followed through.”

For now, Mr. Tucker is simply looking forward to a change of scenery this Sunday, especially because he’s never before been to the Yard, which began as a place choreographers to create but has become a venue for many performing arts. He’s hoping for a large, energetic crowd. “We’re actually going to go down [to Menemsha] for like an hour beforehand and try to round everybody up that’s usually down there and drag them to the Yard,” he said.

“We think they are great,” said Wendy Taucher, artistic director at the Yard. “They are kind of a local institution these days.” The dance colony holds many concerts and events throughout the summer, and this year has been trying to modify their programming, to add some variety and use the venue in different ways. “[Ballywho is] one of my favorite local bands,” said Ms. Taucher. “We think it’s going to be really fun.”