The Bluegrass Jamboree Music Reviews
He Held Nothing Back! I may be one of the last people from The Bluegrass Jamboree to realize that Anthony Howell played all the musical instrument parts, on all the songs, in his new album ‘Hold Back The Dawn.’ The songs were written by a variety of Traditional, older, and more contemporary writers, including himself. [...]
Introducing The Roller Family The Roller Family is from a small town in Wisconsin, and the family members (Dan Roller (dad), Sharon Roller (mom), Abigail, Lindsey, Madison, James, Ellie, Redia, and Titus) are used to spending a lot of time together, in their home. Typically, during the day, they will be working separately or together [...]
New Release Available The brand-new CD Album, by the Mike Mitchell Band, produced by Mike Mitchell, Amanda Cook, & The Mosley Brothers, and released by Turnberry Records is ‘Fathers & Sons’. ‘Fathers & Sons’ is a collection of stories about both Fathers and Sons, and is also an in-depth look at some of the aspects, [...]
Introducing Kaintuck Band The latest album by Kaintuck Band is ‘Hold Whatcha Got’, and was recorded and mastered by Jeff Baxter, and produced by Jim Armstrong at JB Audio in Louisville, Kentucky in 2023. Previously, I was unfamiliar with the band, except for a couple singles receiving airtime on the Jamboree. So, I was looking forward to reviewing the Project. This is the fourth album, for the band, which was formed in 2017. The musical contributors include Jim Armstrong – Fiddle, lead & tenor vocals, Sonny Doak – acoustic Guitar, lead vocals, Mark Payne – 5 string Banjo, Bobby Parton – Mandolin, and newest member Larry Franklin - upright bass, lead & baritone vocals. The band comes to you, at this point, with prestigious and deep experience by the individual musicians. (See info on their website.) In my opinion, the individuals also fit together very well, to produce a cohesive and entertaining collective sound. CD's available by contacting Kaintuck Band Hold Whatcha Got The album contains 12 songs, six Bluegrass selections, and six Bluegrass Gospel songs. The selections are primarily covers and traditional songs, some of which are 100 years old, while one of the Gospel tracks is a new, original, written by Jim Armstrong. Now, as far as the tracks; ‘Girl From West Virginia’ (Clyde & Marie Denny, Wade Hill) is the first and is lively, moving, and fun. ‘The title track, ‘Hold Whatcha Got’ is a Jimmy Martin Classic, with this rendition being very well done! ‘Nellie Kane’ (Tim O’Brien) rather than say, ‘hard-driving’ which I feel is often over used, I prefer to say, ‘the progressions & breaks are excellent, along with the lead vocal, and I believe the band had fun with this.’ ‘Using My Bible as a Roadmap’ (Don Reno, Charles Schroeder) is a good, light, banjo tune, that follows with mandolin, guitar, and fiddle. ‘Dreams of a Miner’s Child’(Andrew Jenkins/Public Domain), is a traditional and somewhat mournful tune, which was written over 100 years ago. ‘Milwaukee, Here I Come’(Lee Fikes), is a fast movin’ tune that fully involves the whole band. A real toe-tapper! ‘Lonesome Feeling’ (Billy Henson) is a Traditional tune, that may have the best instrumentation of the project, along with excellent harmony. ‘You Go To Your Church’ (Phillips H. Lord/Public Domain), is simple, lively, and upbeat Bluegrass about diversity & unity. Extra Good! ‘Slipping Away’ (Bill Anderson) is a good example of a Bluegrass arrangement, but the tune is not my favorite. ‘Crying Holy To The Lord’ (Public Domain) is Traditional, old timey, with an unknown composer. It is genuine Gospel, with a Bluegrass arrangement. ‘Do You Call That Religion’ (Public Domain) is another example of an old, Traditional, set to a Bluegrass arrangement, and well done. ‘Walking Down God’s Road’ (Jim Armstrong) is a new, original Bluegrass Gospel song, and a fitting wrap up for the album! Following Traditions Kaintuck Band tells everyone that they are committed to keeping the traditions [...]
You Know It's Bluegrass If it’s true that it’s been almost three years since the last album debut by ‘Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road’, then their fans and Bluegrass fans in general will be thrilled to see and hear the new album, ‘A Little Bit of Bluegrass’, released by Pinecastle Records. The Lady of Tradition, [...]
The Album ‘Living in The South’, is the new album by Starlett & Big John, and released by Rebel Records. There are a whopping fourteen songs included in the album! I was lucky enough to see Starlett & Big John in person this last year and purchased one of their previous albums. Last year, I [...]
Today, I received my pre-release copy of the CD album, ‘My Ozark Mountain Home‘, by The Petersens. Their fans have waited about a year for this release, and I am here to tell you, it was worth the wait. The ‘title track’ is a beautiful Petersen’s original written by Katie. The rest of the album, […]
The new CD album, ‘Stories of Valor’, by Roger Cline, is more than a collection of songs in an album. It is truly an anthology of various different short stories, telling of the author’s life experiences and stories heard along the way. Before getting to any details, I do want to say that I found […]
