Thomas Cassell’s ‘Travelling Shoes’ appear both literal and metaphorical – mostly the latter though, for even when he sings of lacing up his travelling shoes its just a reminder that he’s hitting the road, again, for another day out in the pursuit of music. Another day when he can ask himself what it is exactly that drives this seemingly endless wanderlust rewarded by a string of identikit hotel rooms and the eventual applause at the gig.
We’re assuming that, in reality it isn’t so bad – as the 2021 National Mandolin Champion and International Bluegrass Music Association award winner not only is recording his own material, with an album coming along soon but also is a member of the band Circus No 9. Thomas Cassell has also performed and worked with the likes of Billy Strings, Jim Lauderdale, Darrell Scott, Aoife O’Donovan, Kaia Kater and many others. So, not all bad then.
The song ‘Travelling Shoes‘ was co-written by Cassell and multi-award-winning fiddler and songwriter Becky Buller, who sings harmony on the track. Cassell sings lead vocals, plays mandolin, and is joined by Tim Stafford on guitar (Blue Highway), Julian Pinelli on fiddle, Vince Ilagan on bass (Circus No. 9), and Jacob Metz on dobro (Darin & Brooke Aldridge). The track was recorded at East Tennessee State University by Ben Bateson and Dan Boner.
