Reviews

FELLER AND HILL AND THE BLUEGRASS BUCKAROOS Blue Circle Records BCR-035 Feller and Hill break from the gate with a sparkling debut that immediately drags you back to the classic era. Feller is Tom Feller, a respected sideman who has played with, among many, Rhonda Vincent and Larry Stephenson. He plays mandolin and bass and…

MIKE COMPTON AND JOE NEWBERRY LIVE AT BRANDYWINE FRIENDS No Label No Number Ragged and rangy in all the right ways, longtime string music ambassadors Mike Compton and banjo/guitar/vocalist Joe Newberry combine forces for a striking live set of rousing old-time string band music. Compton, whose career has spanned everything from solo mandolin CDs to…

THE BOXCARS IT’S JUST A ROAD Mountain Home Music MH14622 I’m of the opinion that you could pretty much lock any random handful of A-string country and bluegrass pickers in a rehearsal room and they could quickly meld themselves into a band with a distinct sound. But as often as not, such super-picker bands tend…

FRANK SOLIVAN AND DIRTY KITCHEN ON THE EDGE Compass Records 746022 With their second release, Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen could now be reaching the kind of name recognition that puts them into any conversation about the elite contemporary bands. Their debut, which hit the bluegrass charts and launched a single, “Driftin’ Apart,” to number…

DAVE ADKINS AND REPUBLIK STEELE THAT’S JUST THE WAY I ROLL Rural Rhythm RUR-1112 I have heard of Dave Adkins over the last year or so, and I’ve seen Republik Steele’s name on a few festival fliers. But I admittedly didn’t focus on Adkins’ talent until I heard his voice on the recent Rural Rhythm…

LOCUST HONEY STRING BAND HE AIN’T NO GOOD No Label No Number This band features Chloe Edmonstone on fiddle, vocals, and guitar, Ariel Dixon on banjo, vocals, and guitar, Meredith Watson on guitar, vocals, resonator guitar, and banjo, and Andy Deaver Edmonstone on bass. With their opening number, Benton Flippen’s “Sally In The Turnip Patch,”…