Chatham County Line “Way Down Yonder” – Bluegrass Murder Ballad

North Carolina “Bluegrass with many a modern twist” band Chatham County Line will be releasing their latest album ‘Hiyo‘ on January 26th – it’s the tenth album from the band.  ‘Way Down Yonder‘ is the third single from the album, it’s an eerie tale of love, death and secrets, lyricist Dave Wilson says of it “Blood that flows freely through a thousand verses of song passed from Mother to child and to child again.  An old-time fiddle and banjo figure loop around the maypole as a ghostly female voice joins the folk choir to send a sinner to where antiquated words are never spoken again.”

The song features guest appearances, including vocalist Maya de Vitry, fiddler John Mailander (Bruce Hornsby, Billy Strings) and drummer Jamie Dick (Watchhouse, Rhiannon Giddens).

The album ‘Hiyo’ sees the band pushing against musical boundaries,  they spent 15 years performing around a single microphone and chose to add a drummer to their touring lineup after the 2020 departure of their banjo player.  And now?  Well, Hiyo features synthesizers, drum machines, and more electric guitar and percussion than ever before.  Says Dave Wilson “There’s this liberating element to getting rid of all the preconceptions about who we are and what we sound like, and I think it shows in these songs.

 

About Jonathan Aird 2867 Articles
Sure, I could climb high in a tree, or go to Skye on my holiday. I could be happy. All I really want is the excitement of first hearing The Byrds, the amazement of decades of Dylan's music, or the thrill of seeing a band like The Long Ryders live. That's not much to ask, is it?
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