GARY BREWER & THE KENTUCKY RAMBLERS

GARY BREWER & THE KENTUCKY RAMBLERS
40th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Stretch Grass Music
SGM-4050

With over four decades of music under his belt, Gary Brewer has come full circle with 40th Anniversary Celebration. Since cutting his teeth on bluegrass music in his early teens, Brewer has honed his skills by playing with Bill Monroe, J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson, Larry Sparks, and others. The current version of the Kentucky Ramblers includes his father Finley on bass vocals, his son Wayne on vocals, fiddle, and bass, and his other son Mason on mandolin and vocals. Ronnie Stewart fills out the group on banjo and fiddle. On this collaboration, Brewer has invited a number of music cohorts, including the Travelin’ McCourys, Russell Moore, Sam Bush, Dale Ann Bradley, Ralph Stanley II, T. Graham Brown, Ashton Shepherd, Justin Moses, and Doug Phelps.

All of the selections on this project were written by Brewer and reflect his growing up, his family, and his life experiences. “Going Up Shell Creek” kicks off the set with the Travelin’ McCourys. Dale Ann Bradley is featured on “Daddy And The Old Oak Tree,” and Russell Moore joins in on “The Rain Is Coming Down.” Sam Bush appears on “Blues Down In Kentucky,” and Ralph Stanley II lends his voice to “Home Ain’t The Way It Used To Be.” There are a couple of train songs, “Money To Ride The Train” with T. Graham Brown and “Big Train” with Doug Phelps of the Kentucky Headhunters. Country singer Ashton Shepherd adds her voice to “I Don’t Know What’s Become Of Me” and “Love In The Mountains,” which also has Justin Moses on resonator guitar. There are also some songs with just his band and those include “Johnson City Blues,” “Down Home Memories,” “Girl From The Mountain,” and “Sally-O.” This set is straight bluegrass with Stewart’s driving banjo throughout. The album is a delightful look into Gary Brewer’s 40 years of writing and performing. (www.brewgrass.com)BF