Cover the Water
Marsh Lights is a project created by singer-songwriter Colby Crehan of Vermont. After spending time living in both Europe and the West Coast, Crehan settled in Vermont and played for a time with the Bluegrass Gospel Project and PossumHaw. After leaving PossumHaw, Crehan took her singing and songwriting talents a step further and formed Marsh Lights, which contained former band mates from PossumHaw. Marsh Lights performed around the New England area and Crehan and the band won awards like Vermont Vocalist of the Year and Vermont Song of the Year.
On this new project of her material, Crehan plays guitar, keyboards, and sings lead and she is joined by Charley Eiseman (guitar, vocals), husband Ryan Crehan (banjo, harmonica, vocals), Stephen Waud (mandolin, vocals), and Mitch Barron (bass, vocals). She calls her music folk-grass and has developed songs with themes based on spirituality, personal relationships, and the heart.
All the songs are written by Crehan except for the instrumental “Town Highway 57,” written by her husband Ryan Crehan. The grass instrumentation is there but the music has a softer approach which is apparent throughout with songs like “Piece of Sliver,” “Hide Your Shield,” “Abigail,” “Working Landscape,” “Cold House,” “A Proper Farewell,” “Stay Off the Shoulder,” and the title “Cover The Water.” There are also two live cuts “Climb, Climb, Climb” and “Ease On Up.” Overall, this is a very nice project which features Crehan’s excellent vocals with solid backing from both the harmony vocals and the band’s tight arrangements.