Reviews

TREVOR AND TRAVIS STUART THE STUART BROTHERS Old Time Tiki Parlour CD/DVD 008 Old-time music is the bedrock for bluegrass and what we call Americana today. It’s folk music and wide ranging in its scope. These two fine musicians, twin brothers, recorded this before the tragic death of Trevor, who died shortly after these recording…

SUMMER BROOKE & THE MOUNTAIN FAITH BAND SMALL TOWN LIFE Travianna Records TR170908 Don’t let the name confuse you: Summer Brooke & The Mountain Faith Band is the same group that took TV’s America’s Got Talent by storm in 2015, making it all the way to the show’s semifinals, surprising many, given the show’s target…

MILE TWELVE ONWARDS Delores The Taurus Records DTT0044 Of the instrumental skills exhibited on the debut recording by this New England-based quintet, there can be no doubt. All five of them—guitarist Evan Murphy, fiddler Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, banjoist Catherine Bowness, mandolinist David Benedict, and bassist Nate Sabat—have their technique firmly at hand and exciting moments pop…

EMISUNSHINE RAGGED DREAMS Little Blackbird Records No Number   Ragged Dreams is the fourth recording from this 13-year-old from East Tennessee. Born Emilie Sunshine Hamilton, her sound is less bluegrass and more country, folk, and Americana. Emi is backed on this project by her family band called Rain, consisting of her father Randall Hamilton (bass),…

BILLY DROZE TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN Rural Rhythm RUR-1138 The first thing to note about Billy Droze’s first album with Rural Rhythm Records is that it packs a one-two wallop with the opening two songs. To Whom It May Concern opens with the haunting “Kentucky Blue,” a soulful tune he wrote that raced up…

THE CHURCHMEN GOD HOLDS TOMORROW Mountain Fever MFR170901 Changes have come to The Churchmen since their last gospel recording. Original founders Keith Clark on bass and vocals and Gerald Harbour on mandolin and vocals are still here, as is five-year veteran Carroll Arnn on banjo and vocals. New to the group are a couple of…