Reviews

MIDNIGHT SKYRACER FIRE No Label No Number    Okay, be sure to Google them, YouTube them, do what you need to do, but when you finish this issue of BU, go get Midnight Skyracer’s debut album Fire. It’s a must-have. One can only imagine the joy this hard-driving new group would bring on a nice spring afternoon with…

THE SONS OF NAVARONE NOBODY’S BUSINESS No Label No Number The Sons of Navarone come out firing with an album featuring high-level playing and singing. It takes an exceptional amount of skill to produce a release like Nobody’s Business. Considering only the picking and singing, this album is a brilliant outing by the Dutch/Belgian ensemble. All…

ALAN JABBOUR AND STEPHEN WADE AMERICANA CONCERT: TRADITIONAL FIDDLE & BANJO TUNES FROM THE APPALACHIANS Patuxent Music CD-308 This treasure of a recording catches the late Alan Jabbour and Stephen Wade in concert at the Library of Congress where Jabbour had run the American Folklife Center before retiring. Two old friends doing what old friends…

DAVE ADKINS RIGHT OR WRONG Mountain Fever MFR 180309 This impressive ten-cut album marks another big step forward for award-winning Kentucky singer-songwriter Dave Adkins. Adkins, best known for previous hits like “Change Her Mind,” “Sold,” and “Pike County Jail,” along with past recording collaborations with Ronnie Bowman, Russell Moore, Marty Raybon, and the Lonesome River…

TROUT STEAK REVIVAL SPIRIT TO THE SEA No Label No Number Bluegrass fans in Colorado are certainly familiar with Trout Steak Revival. With three CDs under their belt, TSR list of accolades includes winning the 2014 Telluride Bluegrass Festival, picking up an Emmy for a soundtrack they contributed for a PBS show, and getting a…

ANDY HALL & ROOSEVELT COLLIER LET THE STEEL PLAY No Label No Number What do you get when you put masters of steel guitar together in a room? That sounds like the set up to a joke, but there’s no punchline this time. Andy Hall (resonator guitarist for the Infamous Stringdusters) and Roosevelt “The Dr.”…