This new song features a pair of talented flat-picked guitar players – and represents something of a dream come true for Larry Keel who explains that “I’ve wanted this project to happen for so long! Jon and I have been on many of the same bills all over the place for so many years, teaming up in jams, sit-ins, and campfire pickings, and yet we’ve never gotten our fill of playing together as guitar players—which we both seem to crave. So, now we’ve put this guitar duo act in motion, playing shows and making a record, and it feels great getting to scratch that itch.” It’s a feeling that is reciprocated by Jon Stickley who has this to say: “From the moment I sat down and started trying to flatpick the guitar, Larry has been one of my biggest inspirations. We’ve become friends over the past 20 years, and I’m thrilled and honored to have this opportunity to collaborate on a deeper level. As soon as Larry and I started playing shows as a duo, we knew it was something special, and we started talking about recording. We have both worked so hard to follow our own unique paths and create our own original styles, but this project has given us a chance to get back to our roots in the style of Norman Blake and Tony Rice, Doc and Merle Watson, and the Monroe Brothers”
‘Pioneers’ is the teaser single for the duo’s eponymous album which is to be released on the 5th of September. It’s a song that looks at the perils encountered on the Western from the seat of a covered wagon – as they voyage out into the untamed empty wilderness (which of course was not quite as empty or untamed as portrayed).
