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ROB BENZING
ROB BENZING Patuxent Music CD-296 Those concerned with the future of traditional bluegrass music can seek comfort in the latest crop of young pickers coming along, making the next generation of tunes. Rob Benzing debuts with a self-titled album that combines old favorites and fresh tunes from this banjoist and his group of friends and…
CORRINA ROSE LOGSTON AND JEREMY STEPHENS
CORRINA ROSE LOGSTON AND JEREMY STEPHENS SONGS OF HOME AND INSPIRATION No Label, No Number Recordings like this remind us that these old songs still have power to both entertain and move the listener. The old brother-duet style, focused largely on sentimental or religious tunes, may be somewhat dated by contemporary standards, but it’s still…
DAVE ADKINS TRIO
DAVE ADKINS TRIO TURN TO JESUS Mountain Fever MFR 170407 Bluegrass gospel recordings can use approaches ranging from spare to ornate, following one end or the other exclusively, or create an overall blend located anywhere on the spectrum or mixing and matching tracks from all over that spectrum. There is no right way. Each approach…
ZOE AND CLOYD
ZOE AND CLOYD EYES BRAND NEW No Label ZC02 When a duo releases a debut album, it makes perfect sense to present themselves in the authentic purity of two voices and two instruments. That’s exactly what Zoe and Cloyd did on their initial recording, Equinox. And it makes just as much sense, when putting out…
TIM O’BRIEN
TIM O’BRIEN WHERE THE RIVER MEETS THE ROAD Howdy Skies CD-2017 No American acoustic artist has presented a more honest, deeply-rooted expression of bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, and roots music than West Virginia’s favorite son, Tim O’Brien. Whether it’s his early work with the Ophelia Swing Band, his initial solo records and songwriting work for Nashville…
DARRELL WEBB BAND
DARRELL WEBB BAND LOVER’S LEAP Mountain Fever Records MFR170210 Darrell Webb’s years with Wildfire, Lonesome River Band, Rhonda Vincent, and Michael Cleveland have served him well. The time spent with those groups enabled Webb to learn both sides of the business—the stage and the office. He took those learned skills and formed his own band…