Reviews

DRY BRANCH FIRE SQUAD TEARIN’ OUTTA THE WILDERNESS No Label No Number Dry Branch Fire Squad has been around so long, they need little in the way of introduction. Fans who have been waiting for the next release will surely be happy with Tearin’ Outta The Wilderness, and newcomers will find plenty to like as well….

CARSON PETERS & IRON MOUNTAIN PRAISES FROM THE MOUNTAIN No Label CPIM002 It’s unusual for a new, young band to break onto the scene in bluegrass with an all gospel effort, but that’s exactly what Carson Peters & Iron Mountain has done with Praises From The Mountain. The 15-track album offers a nice mix of original…

BUDDY GREENE LOOKING BACK Rufus Music RMCD195320 Consider this: Buddy Greene, 40-plus years in music, 20 albums, and a list of contributors that includes Ron Block, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Aubrey Haynie, Bryan Sutton, Del McCoury, a couple of Isaacs, and a host of other musical standouts too numerous to list. Oh, and keep in…

BALSAM RANGE MOUNTAIN OVERTURE Mountain Home MH17162 Eleven years, a half-dozen albums and two IBMA Awards into its stellar career, this acclaimed North Carolina-based five-piece band has come up with an adventurous alternative to the standard Greatest Hitsalbum. Balsam Range (which in 2014 won both the IBMA’s Entertainer Of The Year and Vocal Group Of The Year)…

BRENNEN ERNST HAD A BIG TIME TODAY Patuxent Music CD-307 There was a time when a lot of bluegrass music was this good. The banjo rolls, the busy backup fiddle, the great vocals, and a wide range of material from many sources. The pulling in of traditional nuances, putting that edgy swing into the old,…

FLASHBACK DENVER SNOW Pinecastle Records PRC 1214 Flashbackwas a J.D. Crowe & The New South release from 1994 which featured Richard Bennett, Don Rigsby, Curt Chapman, Randy Howard, and J.D. This album, along with its predecessor Foxhounds & Fiddlesfrom 2017, features Bennett, Rigsby, Chapman, and banjoist Stuart Wyrick and is an offshoot of a recent reunion…