Tag Archives: Bluegrass

Tony Rice: The Bill Monroe Collection

Leave a reply

An anthology of Tony Rice’s recordings of Bill Monroe’s songs

The centennial anniversary of Bill Monroe’s birth has produced an outpouring of tributes (e.g., 1 2 3 4 5) from many of the musicians who’ve descended from the master’s vision. Each of the disciples has played Monroe’s tunes on stage and recorded them sporadically, but with these tributes they’ve made album length statements about their relationship to the music and the man. Tony Rice has also played and recorded Monroe’s music, but instead of recording a purpose-built tribute, his label has cherry-picked fourteen tracks from nine albums released between 1981 and 2000. This includes solo titles and sessions with David Grisman, the Tony Rice Unit, the Rice Bothers and the Bluegrass Album Band.

Fans may already have many of these tracks on original albums or previous collections (Lonesome Moonlight: Bluegrass Songs of Bill Monroe and The Bluegrass Guitar Collection), but for those not steeped in the Tony Rice catalog, this is a fine anthology. Not only is Rice a preeminent bluegrass guitarist and singer, but twenty years of recordings say as much about Rice’s evolving relationship to Monroe as they do about Monroe himself. The set mixes vocal and instrumental tracks, and ranges from traditional playing to styles influenced by jazz and swing. Marian Levy’s liners fill out Rice’s view of Monroe, though the ink she spends on ponderous philosophizing would have been better spent discussing the songs, performances and settings. Chuck the liner notes and you’ll find all you need to know in the grooves. [©2012 hyperbolium dot com]

Tony Rice’s Home Page

13th Annual San Francisco Bluegrass and Old-Time Festival

Leave a reply

PRESS RELEASE

San Francisco, CA-January 19, 2012-The eclectic blend of events booked for the 13th annual San Francisco Bluegrass and Old-Time Festival (SFBOT) will raise up a bluegrass ruckus, create some old-time fun and guarantee some ass kickin’ music through performances, dances and workshops. The 10-day festival runs from Feb. 10-19 and comprises more than 30 shows at numerous small clubs around the Bay Area featuring some of the most talented musicians on the Americana and Roots music scene today.

Highlights of this year’s festival includes Bay Area favorites such as The Brothers Comatose, The Crooked Jades, Earl White String Band and the Kathy Kallick Quartet. Also featured are out-of-town bands; Foghorn Stringband, Cahalen Morrison & Eli West, and making their SFBOT debut, The Deadly Gentlemen (epic folk and grasscore out of Boston!). The Deadly Gentlemen consists of band members: Greg Liszt on banjo (from Crooked Still), Mike Barnett (from David Grisman Quintet/toured w/Jesse McReynolds) on fiddle, Dominick Leslie on mandolin, Stash Wyslouch on guitar and Sam Grisman on upright bass (son of mandolinist David Grisman).

For the first time the festival will feature a band contest which will bring out some of the up-and-coming new Northern California Bluegrass and Old-Time bands. There is a lot of excitement about this contest and it is expected to be a regular addition to the festival.

In addition to shows, the festival aims to provide rich experiences for Bay Area residents through workshops, jam sessions, kids shows, Bluegrass and Old-Time in the Schools and the Saturday night old-time square dance (always a sell-out with over 220 attendees)! Each year the Festival showcases the best in rising acts from the West Coast and beyond, with a special spotlight on the immense amount of local talent located right here in the Bay Area.

Thanks to a generous investment from the Chris and Warren Hellman Foundation, the festival committee continues its commitment to the Bluegrass and Old-time in the Schools program. The program aims to expose elementary and high school students to the worlds of bluegrass and old-time music and continue the legacy of this important music. Schools interested in bringing performers to their Bay Area location should contact the Volunteer Coordinator.

Unlike any other festival in the country, the San Francisco Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival is a grass-roots, non-profit, volunteer-run festival dedicated to keeping the tradition of bluegrass and old-time music alive. For more information on the festival, visit http://www.sfbluegrass.org.

Confirmed 2012 Acts
Foghorn Stringband, Jeff Kazor & Lisa Berman, Anne and Pete Sibley, Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit, The Brothers Comatose, Emily Bonn and The Vivants, Water Tower Bucket Boys, BrownChicken BrownCow StringBand, The Bee Eaters, Cahalen Morrison and Eli West, Stairwell Sisters, Water Tower Bucket Boys, Erik Clampitt, The New Five Cents, Squirrelly Stringband, Evie Ladin, The Juncos, Houston Jones, Susie Glaze and the Hilonesome Band, Family Lines, Kathy Kallick Band Quartet, Taco Jam, Anne & Pete Sibley, The Trespassers, Windy Hill, Snap Jackson & the Knock On Wood Players, Kleptograss, Knuckle Knockers, The Alhambra Valley Band , Redwing, The ONs, Misisipi Mike & the Midnight Gamblers, Mad Cow String Band, Misisipi Rider, Sweetback Sisters, James Nash and the Nomads, SUPERMULE, Belle Monroe and Her Brewglass Boys, Nell Robinson & Jim Nunally, Misner & Smith, Jeanie and Chuck Poling, The Earl Brothers, Henhouse Prowlers, Cahalen Morrison and Eli West, Gayle Schmitt and the Toodala Ramblers, Rita Hosking and Cousin Jack, Evie Ladin, The Blushin’ Roulettes, Earl White Stringband, Black Crown Stringband, Jordan Ruyle, Pine Box Boys, The Jugtown Pirates, Hang Jones, Dark Hollow, The Crooked Jades, The Deadly Gentlemen

2012 Schedule
(*) Indicates Marin County Show

Friday, February 10
SF Live Arts at Cyprian’s SFBOT Kickoff — Foghorn Stringband, Jeff Kazor & Lisa Berman, Anne and Pete Sibley 7:30 pm at St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church, 2097 Turk Street, San Francisco — $16 adv/$18 doors
Big Ass Hillbilly Show — Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit, The Brothers Comatose, Emily Bonn and The Vivants 8:00 pm at Slim’s, 333 11th Street, San Francisco — $15
*Down From the Mountain to Marin — Water Tower Bucket Boys, BrownChicken BrownCow StringBand 8:00 pm at Studio 55 Marin, 1455-A East Francisco Blvd, San Rafael — $12*
The Bee Eaters, Cahalen Morrison and Eli West 8:00 pm at Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley– $20.50 adv / $22.50 doors

Saturday, February 11
Stairwell Sisters 8:00 pm at Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley — $20.50 adv / $22.50 doors
Portland Invasion — Water Tower Bucket Boys, Erik Clampitt, The New Five Cents 9:00 pm at Cafe du Nord, 2174 Market Street, San Francisco — $13 adv / $15 doors

Sunday, February 12
Family Square Dance with Squirrelly Stringband & Evie Ladin — Squirrelly Stringband, Evie Ladin 12:00 pm at North Oakland Community Charter School, 1000 42nd St., Oakland — $5 kid / $10 adult / $25 family
The Juncos 4:30 pm at Bird & Beckett Books & Records, 653 Chenery Street, San Francisco — $10 suggested donation
*Folk Grass Fusion Marin — Houston Jones, Susie Glaze and the Hilonesome Band, Family Lines 8:00 pm at Studio 55 Marin, 1455-A East Francisco Blvd, San Rafael — $12*

Monday, February 13
Kathy Kallick Band Quartet, Susie Glaze and the Hilonesome Band 8:00 pm at Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley — $20.50 adv / $22.50 doors
Taco Jam 8:00 pm at Baja Taqueria, 4070 Piedmont Ave, Oakland — Free

Tuesday, February 14
*Valentine’s Day Show in Marin — Foghorn Stringband, Anne & Pete Sibley 8:00 pm at Studio 55 Marin, 1455-A East Francisco Blvd, San Rafael — $12*

Wednesday, February 15
Hump Day Bluegrass — The Trespassers, Windy Hill, Snap Jackson & the Knock On Wood Players, BrownChicken BrownCow StringBand 8:00 pm at Cafe du Nord, 2174 Market Street, San Francisco — $13 adv / $15 doors
Kleptograss 8:00 pm at Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley — $20.50 adv / $22.50 doors
Knuckle Knockers 8:00 pm at Iron Springs Pub and Brewery, 765 Center Blvd, Fairfax — Free

Thursday, February 16
The Alhambra Valley Band , Redwing, The ONs 7:00 pm at Armando’s, 707 Marina Vista, Martinez — $15
Honky-Tonk Showdown: The Country-Bluegrass Show — Misisipi Mike & the Midnight Gamblers, Mad Cow String Band, Misisipi Rider, Sweetback Sisters 8:00 pm at Cafe du Nord, 2174 Market Street, San Francisco — $13 adv / $15 doors
Blue Ribbon Showcase — James Nash and the Nomads, SUPERMULE 9:00 pm at Brick and Mortar Music Hall, 1710 Mission Street San Francisco — $7 adv / $10 doors

Friday, February 17
Belle Monroe and Her Brewglass Boys 12:00 am at The Starry Plough Pub, 3101 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley — $10-$15 sliding scale
Duo Night — Nell Robinson & Jim Nunally, Misner & Smith, Jeanie and Chuck Poling 7:30 pm at St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church, 2097 Turk Street, San Francisco — $16 adv/$18 doors
Bluegrass Bonanza! — The Earl Brothers, Henhouse Prowlers, Cahalen Morrison and Eli West 8:00 pm at Plough & Stars, 116 Clement Street, San Francisco — $10-$15 sliding scale

Saturday, February 18
Kid’s Show — Gayle Schmitt and the Toodala Ramblers 2:00 pm at St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church, 2097 Turk Street, San Francisco — $9/adults; $6/kids under 12
Americana Angels — Rita Hosking and Cousin Jack, Evie Ladin, The Blushin’ Roulettes 7:30 pm at St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church, 2097 Turk Street, San Francisco — $16 adv/$18 doors
Old-Time Square Dance — Earl White Stringband, Black Crown Stringband, Jordan Ruyle 8:00 pm at Swedish American Hall, 2174 Market Street, San Francisco
Alt-Bluegrass Show — Pine Box Boys, The Jugtown Pirates, Hang Jones 9:00 pm at Cafe du Nord, 2174 Market Street, San Francisco — $13 adv / $15 doors

Sunday, February 19
Dark Hollow 4:30 pm at Bird & Beckett Books & Records, 653 Chenery Street, San Francisco — $10 suggested donation
Festival Closing Night — The Crooked Jades, The Deadly Gentlemen 8:00 pm at Cafe du Nord, 2174 Market Street, San Francisco — $15

Festival Home Page

The Twilite Broadcasters: The Trail of Time

Leave a reply

Tight pre-Bluegrass country harmonizing

This old-timey North Carolina trio (Mark Jackson on guitar, Adam Tanner on mandolin and fiddle, and Duane Anderson on stand-up bass) return with their second album of early-country inspired harmonizing. As on their first album, 2010’s Evening Shade, the singing brings to mind the Delmores and Louvins, and the song list recounts several of the brothers’ tunes alongside traditional songs and later country works. Jackson and Tanner can each sing lead, but it’s the blending of their voices that creates the brightest sparks. The solo verses of “There Stands the Glass,” for example, haven’t the searing quality of Webb Pierce’s hit, but the tight chorus harmonies provide a moving refrain. Tanner’s playing is lively on the original instrumental “North Buncombe Gallop,” Bill Monroe’s “Land of Lincoln” and Arthur Smith’s “Fiddler’s Dream,” and he adds short solos to several other tracks. It’s no surprise that the Delmore and Louvin compositions, including the former’s “Lead Me” and the latter’s “Lorene,” best fit the duo’s harmonizing. This is a homespun collection whose harmonies you could imagine the Broadcasters singing on your own back porch. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

The Twilite Broadcasters’ Home Page

Various Artists: Moody Bluegrass Two – Much Love

Leave a reply

Second helping of string-band reworkings of Moody Blues tunes

Nearly seven years ago, amid a flurry of bluegrass tributes to pop music, mandolinist David Harvey created a surprisingly irony-free tribute to the Moody Blues. With talent that included Sam Bush, Larry Cordle, Stuart Duncan, and Alison Krauss, the high quality of the performances was a given, but the ways in which Harvey and his troupe transformed symphonic prog-rock into acoustic string band arrangements was nearly alchemical. The second volume of this project returns Harvey to the producer’s seat alongside several players from the first outing and an all-star lineup of vocalists that includes Vince Gill, Tim O’Brien, Peter Rowan, Ricky Skaggs and the Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward, John Lodge, and Graeme Edge.

With most of the band’s hits covered on volume one, this second helping digs deeper into the album sides. The set’s most recognizable tune is 1968’s “Tuesday Afternoon,” sung by John Cowan, with tight harmonies from Jon Ranall and Jan Harvey, and Harvey’s mandolin-related instruments providing filigree in place of Mike Pinder’s original mellotron. There are a few more mid-charting U.S. singles (“The Story in Your Eyes,” “I Know You’re Out There,” “Say it with Love”), but some of the collection’s best numbers include the album track “Dawn is a Feeling” from Days of Future Passed, the UK hit single “Voices in the Sky” (given a charming lead vocal by Havey’s then eight-year-old daughter, Emma), and odds ‘n’ sods, such as the non-LP “Highway.” Jon Randall provides a particularly fetching vocal on the latter, supported by a choir and rolling banjo from Alison Brown.

The Moodies reprise several of their original vocals, but hearing Justin Hayward sing “It’s Cold Outside of Your Heart” (from The Present) to an acoustic backing liberates the song’s country heart from its original mid-80s production. Others, like John Lodge’s “Send Me No Wine,” find their folk style reinforced by the string band. The album closes with the only non-Moody track, an original instrumental titled “Lost Chord” on which Harvey salutes the band’s third album, In Search of the Lost Chord, and swaps gentle solos with Andy Hall (dobro), Tim May (guitar), Brian Christianson (fiddle) and Alison Brown (banjo). The song list draws from across the band’s catalog, and as on the first volume cleverly parlays prog-rock into prog-string band. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

Moody Bluegrass Home Page

Jim Lauderdale: Reason and Rhyme

Leave a reply

Country songwriter Jim Lauderdale reteams with Dead lyricist Robert Hunter

There’s a select set of modern musicians who’ve found fortune in Nashville, yet maintained (or in the case of Patty Loveless and Dolly Parton, developed) bluegrass credentials. Jim Lauderdale hasn’t had the level of commercial success as Vince Gill or Ricky Skaggs, but his songs have been turned into hits by George Strait, Mark Chesnutt, and Patty Loveless, and he’s won critical accolades for this own work. He’s a favorite of roots listeners, a valued collaborator to a wide variety of other musician’s projects, and like Gill and Skaggs, he’s maintained a deep connection to bluegrass, including collaborations with Ralph Stanley and Donna the Buffalo, and his own Grammy-winning Bluegrass Diaries.

For the past few years, Lauderdale’s work has intertwined with the history of the Grateful Dead, including his participation in The American Beauty Project, and extensive songwriting with former Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. Lauderdale’s previous collaboration with Hunter, Patchwork River, was an electric affair that blended country, rock, blues and Southern soul. Their latest set reaches back to the string band and harmony sounds of 2004’s Headed for the Hills, but with purer (but certainly not pure) bluegrass arrangements. The result reflects the specific talents of each participant: Hunter’s lyrics reaching places you don’t often visit in bluegrass, and Lauderdale’s Buck Owens-ish drawl adding country twang to everything he sings.

Hunter’s writing fits the curves of Lauderdale’s melodies with ease, drawing the listener to words and rhymes as well as the stories. You may never figure out what “Tiger and the Monkey” is about or how Hunter put himself into the person of a boxer who beat Jack Dempsey, but you’ll have a lot of fun singing along. More traditionally, the self-loathing “Don’t Give a Hang” hides its sorrow in a curmudgeon’s complaints, and the deep longing of “Love’s Voice” is emphasized by the way Launderdale drags the verses and charges into the chorus, contrasting happy memories with present day pain.

Producer Randy Kohrs assembled a terrific band of pickers and ran through the entire album in a single day. The result is professionally tight, but still very fresh, with some fine rolling leads and rhythmic vamps from banjo player Scott Vestal, lyrical mandolin picking from Mike Compton and moody draws of fiddler Tim Crouch’s bow. You can catch Lauderdale on the summer festival circuit, where he’ll no doubt be tearing things up with the hot-picked “Fields of the Lord” alongside other great tracks from this latest album and highlights of his extensive catalog. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

Jim Lauderdale’s Home Page
Jim Lauderdale’s Facebook Page

The Greencards: The Brick Album

Leave a reply

Genre-blending Austin-based acoustic string band

If you imagine an intersection where the traditions of country and bluegrass meet the inventions of newgrass and the changes that swept through British contemporary folk, you’ll have a sense of the music spun by the Greencards. Their songs feature the tight harmonies of country and bluegrass, the sophistication of jazz, and the pluck of folk. As on 2009’s Fascination, the band traverses numerous styles from song to song, but unlike the contrasting colors of their previous outing, here they explore varying shades of their progressive string-band sound. The opening “Make it Out West,” though sung about modern contemporary emigration to the coast, still manages to conjure pickaxes and transcontinental rails with its rhythm. Similar   changes are also heard in the jig “Adelaide,” while the album’s second instrumental, “Tale of Kangario,” hints at South American styles.

Vocalist Carol Young moves fluidly from country to jazz to pop, occasionally transitioning within a single song. The bass and plucked mandolin of “Mrs. Madness” provides a ‘30s supper club setting for the verses, slides into contemporary harmonies on the chorus and adds modernly picked fills. The longing of “Faded” and harmony blend of “Naked on the River” lean more toward pop harmony groups like the Rescues than to traditional bluegrass or country, but the mandolin (courtesy of guest Sam Bush), fiddle (from recent addition Tyler Andal) and guitar (from the band’s other recent addition, Carl Miner) keep the song anchored to the group’s roots. Vince Gill adds a duet vocal on “Heart Fixer,” and several dozen fans star as financial supporters, with their names emblazoned on the covers.

You can imagine several of these songs turning up on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy or another lovingly curated television show’s soundtrack. The Greencards have combined their diverse musical interests in a showcase that highlights the ingredients without sounding forced. They sound modern, but still rooted, a group whose acoustic framework is still recognizable to bluegrass, country and string band fans, but one that could also appeal to contemporary pop listeners. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Heart Fixer
The Greencards’ Home Page
The Greencards’ MySpace Page

Sarah Jarosz: Follow Me Down

Leave a reply

Sophomore outing confidently meshes string band, bluegrass and modern sounds

Though only 19 when she wrote and recorded this set, Sarah Jarosz has pushed well beyond the “prodigy” title of her early years on the bluegrass circuit. Even her 2009 debut, Song Up in Her Head, showed her to be a lot deeper than a musical wunderkind. Her string-band background is still evident on this sophomore outing, but as on the earlier single, The New 45, she also reaches to progressive folk and indie-rock.  The album menu remains the same as the debut: a wealth of original material and an ingeniously selected pair of covers (Bob Dylan’s “Ring Them Bells” and Radiohead’s “The Tourist”), played by a mix of her regular musical compatriots (Jerry Douglas and Stuart Duncan), young bucks (Alex Hargreaves, Nathaniel Smith), guests (Shawn Colvin, Darrell Scott, Dan Tyminski, Bela Fleck), and a dozen more interesting players.

Jarosz stamps all eleven tracks with her musical vision. The haunting tone of her voice, the assuredness with which she weaves through the melodies, and the thoughtfulness of her delivery are all impressive. She isn’t polished from twenty years of roadwork, but instead seems to have been fully delivered as an artist from birth. Even more incredible is how her sure-footedness invites response from the assembled players. Young and old alike respond with terrific ideas, including Bela Fleck’s vamping and banjo solo on “Come Around,” Stuart Duncan’s duet, counterpoint and violin leads on “Floating in the Balance,” and the progressive instrumental jam “Old Smitty.” Her trio singing with the Punch Brothers (and Gabe Witcher’s superb violin) both breaks down and intesifies the mood of Radiohead’s “The Tourist.”

The emotional quality of Jarosz’s singing magnifies the open-ended meaning of her lyrics. The opening “Run Away” extends an invitation that may be one of innocence or sexuality, and the following “Come Around” strains to maintain faith in someone who may be either mortal or godly. Jarosz seeks connection in “Here nor There,” but it’s not clear whether the kinship is with another person or with her musical gift; the latter is explicitly serenaded in “My Muse,” and her adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “Annabell Lee” provides a lyrical story of unconsummated love. It’s often said that you have eighteen or twenty years to write your first album, and only one year to write the follow-up, but with this sophomore outing, Jarosz shows she has both gas in the tank and a long road ahead. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

Sarah Jarosz’s Home Page

Owen Temple: Mountain Home

Leave a reply

Country, folk, bluegrass and blues from talented Texas songsmith

Owen Temple’s last album, Dollars and Dimes, took its concept from the socio-political ideas of Joel Garreau’s The Nine Nations of North America. Temple wrote songs that explored the regional ties of work and cultural belief that often transcend physical geography, zeroing in on the life issues that bind people together. With his newest songs, he’s still thinking about people, but individuals this time, catching them as a sociologist would in situations that frame their identity in snapshots of hope, fear, prejudice, heroism, and the shadows of bad behavior and disaster. As on his previous album, his songs are rooted in actual places – isolated communities that harbor dark secrets and suffocating intimacy, a deserted oil town lamented as a lost lover, a legendary red-light district, and the Texas troubadours in whose footsteps he follows. The album’s lone cover, Leon Russell’s “Prince of Peace,” is offered in tribute to a primary influence.

Temple’s songs are sophisticated and enlightening, offering a view of the Texas west that’s akin to Dave Alvin’s meditations on mid-century California. He writes with a folksinger’s eye, observing intimate, interior details of every day life, and painting big, mythological sketches of Sam Houston and Cabeza de Vaca. The latter, “Medicine Man,” was co-written with Gordy Quist, and recently recorded by Quist’s Band of Heathens. Temple’s music stretches into country, bluegrass, gospel and blues, and he sings with the confidence of a writer who deeply trusts his material. Gabriel Rhodes’ production is spot-on throughout the album, giving Temple’s songs and vocals the starring roles, but subtly highlighting the instrumental contributions of Charlie Sexton, Rick Richards, Bukka Allen and Tommy Spurlock. Temple has made several fine albums, but taking intellectual input from Garreau seems to have clarified and deepened his own songwriting voice. This is an album that ingratiates itself on first pass, and  reveals deep new details with each subsequent spin. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | One Day Closer to Rain
Owen Temple’s Home Page
Owen Temple’s MySpace Page
Owen Temple’s Facebook Page

Various Artists: Blue Moon of Kentucky – Instrumental Tribute to Bill Monroe

Leave a reply

Instrumental tribute to the Father of Bluegrass

Mike Scott leads an all-star line-up, including Adam Steffey, Bryan Sutton, Rob Ickes, Aubrey Haynie, Mike Compton, Tim Stafford and Ben Isaacs, on this instrumental tribute to the father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe. Twelve of these tracks were previously released as a gift shop item on the Maple Street label, but with six additional performances and broader distribution from Rural Rhythm, this release welcomes the 100th anniversary year of Monroe’s birth. Shorn of bluegrass vocal harmonies, the instrumentalists have plenty of room to solo, and they do so with great finesse. There’s some requisite hot picking, but more interesting are the ballads and mid-tempo numbers on which the melodic beauty and subtle instrumental tones aren’t overwhelmed by frenetic tempos. The lazy fiddle that introduces “Blue Moon of Kentucky” gives way to some fine mid-tempo playing, “Kentucky Waltz” is as relaxed and warm as an outdoor summer’s dance, and Scott, Ickes and Haynie trade wonderfully slow, lost-in-thought solos on “Precious Memories.” This is a sweet tribute to the musical roots of bluegrass and a fitting marker for Bill Monroe’s hundredth birthday anniversary. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

Valerie Smith: Blame it on the Bluegrass

Leave a reply

Traditional bluegrass recorded at the IBMM

Valerie Smith established herself as a bluegrass traditionalist more than a decade ago, and doubles-down on her roots with this six-song EP. As the first album recorded within the walls of the International Bluegrass Music Museum, Smith pays tribute to her musical forbearers with hot picking and tight harmonies. She works with producer and multi-instrumentalist Becky Buller, guitar/mandolin/banjo player Ernie Evans and bassist Rebekah Long, playing and singing in a make shift studio set up in the museum’s backroom “cave.” The sessions stay true to the music’s traditions, adds some blues to the vocal of “Where the Sun Never Shines,” and closes on a country note with Merle Travis’ “No Vacancy.” This is a heartfelt project that twines together Smith’s roles as bluegrass musician, evangelist and educator. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

Valerie Smith’s Home Page
The International Bluegrass Music Museum’s Home Page