Reviews

KELLER WILLIAMS WITH THE TRAVELIN’ McCOURYS PICK KW Enterprises/McCoury music SCIFI 1153 Keller Williams is known on the festival circuit as an ambitious if not eclectic artist. Sometimes playing solo and other times with a band, he is a musician determined to bring a unique take to acoustic music. In the last few years, however, he…

TOWN MOUNTAIN LEAVE THE BOTTLE Pinecastle Records PRC 1180 I had a good time listening to this new album by Town Mountain for the first time. Titled Leave The Bottle, this new project starts off with four songs in a row that are fun and upbeat and good. Hailing from Asheville, N.C., the sound of…

BANJO DAN KICK MOLLY THROUGH THE WALL Vermont Songbag VSB 109 This is a fun romp through an interesting program of original songs by Banjo Dan Lindner. It features lots of folks including his current lineup of the Mid-Nite Plowboys. The songs tend to be diverse in style and focus, exploring varying themes such as…

LOAFERS’ GLORY Arhoolie 542 If the name of this band and their album suggests to you a bunch of musicians “laid back and pickin’” (as Lester Flatt used to say), you wouldn’t be far wrong. And Flatt’s of long ago observation would apply here, too. These talented and experienced Southern California-based musicians with years of…

LARRY STEPHENSON WHAT REALLY MATTERS Compass Records 745812 Larry Stephenson’s latest is one of those recordings that refreshes you like a breezy cool front on the heels of a torturous heat wave. Making it go are Stephenson’s distinctive tenor lead, which continues to mellow gracefully, and his thirty-plus years in the business, which has given…

ETHAN HUGHES SEARCHING FOR A HOME Patuxent Music PXCD-226 Combing a keen sense of musicality and musicianship on resonator guitar with a strong lead vocal, young Ethan Hughes has created a debut CD that will probably create some interest and excitement among fans of modern bluegrass. Eschewing the alt-grass or jamgrass-style that has propelled other…