It’s about time for some bluegrass – and North Carolina’s Unspoken Tradition bring us that with a modern spin – in outlook at least, because they are a classic bluegrass band for sure. The line-up for Unspoken Tradition is brothers Audie McGinnis (guitar and vocals) and Zane McGinnis (banjo), Ty Gilpin (mandolin and vocals), Tim Gardener (fiddle and vocals), and Sav Sankaran (bass and vocals).
Songwriter Aaron Bibelhauser came up with ‘Irons in the Fire’ and explained the thinking behind it: “In the bluegrass world many of us juggle much more than just a career as a professional musician. Some of us have full-time day jobs, side gigs as a session musician, radio host, songwriter, etc. — and there’s always behind-the-scenes music business work to be done as well. That sentiment is strikingly obvious within the top shelf delivery of ‘Irons In The Fire’ from Unspoken Tradition. Ironically, my co-writer and uncle, Steve Guenthner, retired from his own career in the business world shortly before I asked him to lend a hand with this song. He certainly provided some contrasting wisdom to bring the song full circle in recognizing that, no matter how much work there is left to do, or how challenging the road ahead appears, freedom lies in the path forward… the journey, not the destination.”
