Bluegrass is a worldwide phenomenon. In recent episodes we have had Eastern Europe and Canada. This time we have Belgium and Wiltshire. The circular nature of musical influences which we find in so much of the music we feature at AUK is reflected in Bluegrass. English and Scottish, and other European influences on Appalachia and elsewhere in the US are now coming back and mixing with their own history to produce unique and unexpected music.
2024 has been a great year for Bluegrass with great work offered by new and established artists, and it’s been exciting to see how far the boundaries of the genre are being pushed, as well the quality of the music that stays closer to the tradition.
Pick of the year awards must go to two albums we featured in July. Lonesome River Band ‘The Winning Hand’ and The Del McCoury Band’s ‘Songs Of Love And Life.’ Although another personal favourite is also the most local (at least to me) and our first entry this month…
Charlotte Carrivick, featured with her sister Laura in our Small Venue Heroes series a while ago, but ‘Sensible or Otherwise’ is her first all instrumental solo album. The inspiration for many of the tunes comes from her people and incidents in her family. ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ is an almost perfect balance of Folk and Bluegrass and was inspired by one of Her son’s drawings. Instrumental albums can be hard to get right as audiences expect words to hang their understanding, but here the tunes like ‘I’m Glad That’s Not My Dog’ perfectly reflecting the energy of a Spaniel in full zoomie mode and the stillness of ‘Waiting for Annie’ written 3 weeks before her daughter’s birth it is easy to feel the meaning behind the titles.
Hills of Belgium is an old-time music duo. “Two voices, a violin and a banjo revisiting songs and melodies at the roots of American tradition.” ‘Come on Buddy Don’t You Want to Go’ is resolutely lo-fi. With drums and brass supporting the core duo they have drawn on inspirations ancient and modern. ‘Sourwood Mountain’ sounds like an Appalacian country dance with whatever instruments could be assembled for the night. ‘Single Girl’ veers towards the earliest blues and country music form the deep south of the US. ‘4AM at Felts Park’ named for an attraction in Virginia is another dance tune which has elements of English country dance from a couple of hundred years ago but takes a left turn into almost avant-garde Jazz territory. Intriguing and highly listenable.
Appalachian Smoke offer state of the art Bluegrass. Original songs that blend traditional and contemporary styles. This is commercial and sparkly music which has scored on the Bluegrass charts in the US. Mountain Fever Records have made a point of finding some of the best Bluegrass talent playing and this won’t let them down. Singles ’Good at Gone’ and ‘Don’t Wash Away Our Home’ are energetic and will doubtless do well on the radio, but the soul of this album lies in songs like ‘Nashville Blues’ a gentler tune led by bassist Tim Williams, and BJ Taylor’s mandolin tune ‘The Way the Crow Flies.’ A high-quality debut album which presents another side of the music.
