Reviews

DELLA MAE THE BUTCHER SHOPPE EP Rounder Records 1166100493 Della Mae, a band with enormous talent honed to steely perfection, has emerged as one of the most entertaining acts in bluegrass. The Boston-based ensemble has had a couple of significant personal changes, losing bassist Shelby Means a few years back, and more impactfully, losing lead…

AMANDA COOK POINT OF NO RETURN Mountain Fever MFR 190401 Amanda Cook is originally from the Gulf Coast of Florida and once introduced to bluegrass by her Dad, she was hooked. She and her father formed the band High Cotton and that was where she gained the experience that gave her confidence to go out…

ETSU OLD-TIME MUSIC SONGS Now and Then Records NTR 20171201 The simple, yet accurate, title introduces an enjoyable recording by students at East Tennessee State University’s Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies program. This particular semester’s ensemble consists of Kristi Hedtke on guitar and lead vocals, Corbin Hayslett on banjo, guitar, and lead vocals, Roy…

VARIOUS ARTISTS GONNA SING GONNA SHOUT Billy Blue Records BBR-0824 What do you get when you cross one of the most prolific writers in bluegrass and gospel with one of the best-known producers, songwriters, and artists, along with an all-star cast of musicians? A stick of dynamite. It’s hard to describe Gonna Sing, Gonna Shout: From…

MIKE MITCHELL SMALL TOWN FMS Records FMS 004 Floyd, Virginia (population about 430), certainly qualifies as a small town. But it has a city-sized place in bluegrass and old-time music history, as exemplified by the Pix Theater building on West Main Street. Bill and Charlie Monroe performed there, it once housed County Sales and its…

JUSTIN HILTNER & JON WEISBERGER WATCH IT BURN Robust Records RBST015    Justin Hiltner makes his recording debut under his own name and in partnership with longtime co-writer Jon Weisberger onWatch It Burn, an album that’s more warm, inviting, and charming than burning. Hiltner shows off all three of his strengths as a songwriter, vocalist, and…