Reviews

GINA CLOWES TRUE COLORS Mountain Home MH17002 Somewhat concurrently to stepping into the banjo slot for Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, Gina Clowes released her first solo recording, a 12-track release of wide musical variety and very impressive performances. With the exception of the lullaby “Beautiful Land” penned by Anthony Newley, Clowes wrote the…

APPALACHIAN EXPRESS DUSTY TREASURES No Label No Number Cindy West has one of those rich, compelling voices that almost single-handedly can lift a band into the upper echelons of bluegrass performance. After performing for two decades from the early ’70s to the early ’90s, and then taking substantial time off for other pursuits, West and…

TREVOR AND TRAVIS STUART THE STUART BROTHERS Old Time Tiki Parlour CD/DVD 008 Old-time music is the bedrock for bluegrass and what we call Americana today. It’s folk music and wide ranging in its scope. These two fine musicians, twin brothers, recorded this before the tragic death of Trevor, who died shortly after these recording…

SUMMER BROOKE & THE MOUNTAIN FAITH BAND SMALL TOWN LIFE Travianna Records TR170908 Don’t let the name confuse you: Summer Brooke & The Mountain Faith Band is the same group that took TV’s America’s Got Talent by storm in 2015, making it all the way to the show’s semifinals, surprising many, given the show’s target…

MILE TWELVE ONWARDS Delores The Taurus Records DTT0044 Of the instrumental skills exhibited on the debut recording by this New England-based quintet, there can be no doubt. All five of them—guitarist Evan Murphy, fiddler Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, banjoist Catherine Bowness, mandolinist David Benedict, and bassist Nate Sabat—have their technique firmly at hand and exciting moments pop…

EMISUNSHINE RAGGED DREAMS Little Blackbird Records No Number   Ragged Dreams is the fourth recording from this 13-year-old from East Tennessee. Born Emilie Sunshine Hamilton, her sound is less bluegrass and more country, folk, and Americana. Emi is backed on this project by her family band called Rain, consisting of her father Randall Hamilton (bass),…