Reviews

MILE TWELVE CITY ON A HILL Delores The Taurus Records DTT0045 This project, the band’s second, includes ten tracks; all but two are originals. The covers are a Richard Thompson number, which opens the CD, and the other is “Where We Started,” written by John Cloyd Miller from the duo Zoe & Cloyd. Bryan Sutton…

DAVID GRIER WAYS OF THE WORLD Dreadnought Recordings 2018    When David Grier burst onto the bluegrass scene in 1991 with his debut release Freewheeling on Rounder Records, it changed bluegrass and flatpicking guitar forever. Son of Blue Grass Boy Lamar Grier, David grew up having Clarence and Roland White come by his house to jam with his…

ANDY STATMAN MONROE BUS Shefa Records Horn-3008     Among the notes and graphics of this outstanding CD is an offstage snapshot of Bill Monroe at the 1966 Roanoke Bluegrass Festival. Walking into the scene at that moment—literally in Monroe’s footsteps—is a 16-year-old from New York City named Andy Statman. Given Statman’s subsequent career as a…

DALE ANN BRADLEY THE HARD WAY Pinecastle Records PRC-1229    The latest album from five-time IBMA Female Vocalist Of The Year and multiple Grammy nominee Dale Ann Bradley presents songs that have stayed close to her over the years. She says, “They are full-circle songs about regret—reflective songs maybe.” At the height of her career, Bradley…

BLUE MOON RISING AFTER ALL THIS TIME Mountain Fever MFR190322 Blue Moon Rising has launched its seventh recording, this one on Mountain Fever Records, notwithstanding some personnel changes since the band was created in 2000. Founding members Chris West (guitar/vocals), Keith Garrett (mandolin/guitar/vocals), and Tim Tipton (upright bass) are back together and are joined by…

THE CROOKED JADES EMPATHY MOVES THE WATER Jae Note Music CJ010 Any band that has been around for over twenty years is bound to have accumulated a wide range of influences. The Crooked Jades began their journey back in 1996, and their musical backbone continues to be defined by old-time music. Their newest CD, Empathy Moves…