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WYATT RICE & DAN MENZONE ALLIANCE SOMETHING OUT OF THE BLUE Mountain Fever MFR 160318 This alliance is the basis for some fine picking and singing. Wyatt Rice will be known to all, but those who have been asleep, as brother to the legendary Tony Rice. Dan Menzone is his picking partner and a fine…

SWIFT CREEK MAGNOLIA No label No number If you’re looking for a laid-back sound that mixes a lot of influences from bluegrass to blues to a little Americana, North Carolina band Swift Creek might be your ticket. The group, mostly known around the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area, just released their second album, Magnolia. The group broadened…

BILL EMERSON & SWEET DIXIE THE GOSPEL SIDE OF BILL EMERSON & SWEET DIXIE Rural Rhythm RUR-1132 This all-gospel set from Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie is a compilation of 12 previously-released songs. The earliest, “Beautiful” (the most Gentleman-ly song here, sung by Randy Waller) and “Keep On The Sunny Side” (sung with anthem-like stateliness…

BACK ROADS MANDOLIN VOLUME TWO BY BUDDY MERRIAM. (Buddy Merriam, P.O. Box 862, Sound Beach, NY 11789, www.buddymerriam.com.) Buddy Merriam is a mandolin player from New York who has over 500 mandolin compositions to his credit. He’s spent 35 years leading his group Buddy Merriam & Back Roads and for 25 years has been the…

DAVE ADKINS Mountain Fever Records MFR 160226 With his third recording for Mountain Fever, Dave Adkins has brought all the musical threads together and produced his finest work to date. I’ve noted that the one area for Adkins needing work was his bluegrass phrasing. His last recording was almost there. This one is. One need…

THE KEVIN PRATER BAND WALKING RAILS & COUNTING TIES No Label No Number With the possible exception of the slightly minor cast of the lost love tune “Joanie” and Kevin Prater’s own tragic romance original “You’re In Love With Another,” the offerings here, sad subject or no, have an upbeat, positive sound that make you…