Reviews

SIDELINE FRONT AND CENTER Mountain Home MH17052 With its fourth album, this six-man “Carolina-style-grass” band of super pickers once again displays its flair for seamless instrumental prowess, exemplary song choices, soulful singing and overall nonpareil musicianship. Front And Centerkicks off with “Thunder Dan” (written by Josh Manning), a bruising, tongue-in-cheek story-song about a mythical mountain…

REBEKAH LONG RUN AWAY Luk Records Luk 100 Run Awayis Rebekah Long’s new solo album and highlights why she’s a needed fresh face in the bluegrass world. Simply put, her voice is as pure as her musical heart. She makes music that’s unique, quirky (in a great way), and authentic. Long was one of the…

MIDNIGHT SKYRACER FIRE No Label No Number    Okay, be sure to Google them, YouTube them, do what you need to do, but when you finish this issue of BU, go get Midnight Skyracer’s debut album Fire. It’s a must-have. One can only imagine the joy this hard-driving new group would bring on a nice spring afternoon with…

THE SONS OF NAVARONE NOBODY’S BUSINESS No Label No Number The Sons of Navarone come out firing with an album featuring high-level playing and singing. It takes an exceptional amount of skill to produce a release like Nobody’s Business. Considering only the picking and singing, this album is a brilliant outing by the Dutch/Belgian ensemble. All…

ALAN JABBOUR AND STEPHEN WADE AMERICANA CONCERT: TRADITIONAL FIDDLE & BANJO TUNES FROM THE APPALACHIANS Patuxent Music CD-308 This treasure of a recording catches the late Alan Jabbour and Stephen Wade in concert at the Library of Congress where Jabbour had run the American Folklife Center before retiring. Two old friends doing what old friends…

DAVE ADKINS RIGHT OR WRONG Mountain Fever MFR 180309 This impressive ten-cut album marks another big step forward for award-winning Kentucky singer-songwriter Dave Adkins. Adkins, best known for previous hits like “Change Her Mind,” “Sold,” and “Pike County Jail,” along with past recording collaborations with Ronnie Bowman, Russell Moore, Marty Raybon, and the Lonesome River…