As REUNION ROAD, Carol Hausner and Eleanor Ellis mix and match their rich, emotive blend of voice and guitar with songs in the bluegrass and folk roots traditions. The two first met and began singing together in the musical haven of Takoma Park Maryland during the 1980s, in the early days of the Takoma Park Folk Festival. When festival founder Sammie Abbott was mayor he and his wife Ruth hosted many musical parties where members of this vibrant community met and exchanged songs and ideas.  The black and white photo of Carol and Eleanor was taken at one of these parties. 

Eleanor was raised around New Orleans and, entranced by the local sounds, sang and played guitar in formal and informal settings, weaving together and exploring many melodic roots and genres. As well as solo gigs on Bourbon Street and various uptown venues, she played bluegrass and country with Luke Thompson and the Green Valley Cutups and with Dr. Bill Malone and the Hill Country Ramblers, and performed as a duo with Hazel Schlueter.  Upon moving to Maryland and meeting local blues legends like John Jackson and Archie Edwards, she gravitated toward blues, while always keeping in touch with the variety of music and song which brought her there. Eleanor says, “Although I’m more known now for playing blues, I’ve always been drawn to many styles of music and I love to sing these songs with Carol from my folk and bluegrass days.”  more.....

There are those of us who’ve had the privilege of knowing Bryan Bowers since the early 70’s. We know him as an autoharp master, singer of songs, teller of tales (some short, some…), wooer of women, friend, brother, and solo performer extraordinaire. Now we have another side of the coin with the Bryan Bowers Band. A trio, Bryan’s voice is beautifully “framed” surrounded by the voices of Danny Knicely and Geoff Goodhue. The vocal blend is unique, the kind you don’t often hear, and the songs selected for “Woodland Dream”, moving and soulful.

While mainly a vocal group their instrumental blend features Bryan in a new light we haven’t heard before. He is playing mandocello, guitar, and of course autoharp, blending with Danny on mandolin, mandocello and guitar and Geoff joining on guitar and mandolin, both being masterful musicians themselves. Be it instrumentals, song, or a cappella vocal trios, this music is from the heart, done for all the right reasons… simply put, it’s obvious these guys love playing and singing together.

Sam Bush

The players: Three talent-laden musicians, three well-tuned voices, three traditional acoustic instruments.

The material: A bakers-dozen songs, a knowledgeable array of genres, and a multitude of styles fashioned by the well-tempered skills of Tom Mindte (mandolin), the fresh exuberance of Ben Somerville (bass) and the drive and clarity of Mason Via (guitar).

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When Phil Wiggins and I wrote the book “Sweet Bitter Blues – Washington D.C.’s Homemade Blues” (University Press of Mississippi, 2020), we reflected on the acoustic local blues scene during the life and times of Phil Wiggins in his own African American community. At its core, the D.C. area acoustic “down home” blues scene was rooted with a small group of musicians, proud and beloved men and women; Mother Scott, Flora Molton, Chief Ellis, Archie Edwards, John Jackson, John Cephas & Phil Wiggins. The musicians in Washington, D.C., who are no longer with us, have left an important legacy: “Carry on this music. Keep it going.” Our friends and compatriots who are featured on this collection were all connected in some way to the elders. As you will hear, they carry on the Piedmont tradition and related acoustic roots music with passion, love and reverence. Thanks to all contributors

                                                                            - Frank Matheis, New York 2019

Danny Paisley and The Southern Grass continue to be deeply rooted in tradition, but
look to the future with enthusiasm and anticipation . This coming year brings renewed excitement! Dann y Paisley and The Southern Grass released their That’s Why I’m Lonesome CD on Patuxent Music. It is filled with all the traditional sound you would expect from a Southern Grass CD.

Since Danny’s father Bob Paisley (founder of Southern Grass) passed away in 2004, Danny Paisley and The Southern Grass have made their own niche in the bluegrass world.

Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass play powerful, unadorned, and intense traditional bluegrass. Their combination of instrumentation and vocals convey the energy and emotion of classic bluegrass and country music. Danny’s lead vocals will captivate your senses, so much so that many prominent musicians, including Alison Krauss, have considered Danny as one of their favorite singers. His voice combines powerful range and soulful blues with a sound like no one else in bluegrass today. more.....

A resident of Mount Airy, North Carolina, Donnie lives at “ground zero” for old-time and bluegrass music.  The area is surrounded by numerous annual fiddler’s conventions and Donnie routinely competes on dobro in the contests. Over the years Donnie has won every dobro finishing position at the Old Fiddler’s Convention in Galax, 1st through 9th. 

Donnie is a popular raconteur who loves music and travel, loves to talk, and is not afraid of social media. He wrote a book with his wife Barbara about his travels several years back. His musings on social media sometimes tackle touchy subjects but in a way that makes one laugh out loud or smile or think. It is obvious after knowing Donnie for a while that the big bearded man in the Roundhouse overalls, florescent yellow tee, straw hat, and the dobro around his neck is very smart.

Donnie counts Mike Auldridge as one of his major influences and jammed with the great artist one time. As with many bluegrass dobro players, Uncle Josh Graves also guided the way for Donnie. “Josh was my first dobro hero – the one who made me want to play dobro,” says Donnie.  Jerry Douglas and Shot Jackson are Donnie’s other acknowledged influences.   more.....

Dede Wyland’s voice rings like a bell, clear and powerful. With a stellar backing band, Dede is showcased here in familiar and supportive ground. Her voice flows and dances through these songs like a luminous golden ribbon, tying each tying each song together while shining light onto the lyrics. She moves with ease from the haunting country-soul delivery of “Could You Love Me One More Time” to the precise and masterful control of “Cannonball Yodel.”

I first heard Dede sing with Tony Trischka and Skyline in the ‘80s and I was immediately struck with the richness and strength of her voice. I was also struck with the absolute ease with which she sang. Her singing, then and now, appears effortless and natural, as if she is lounging on a cushy sofa, having a conversation, drink in hand, and suddenly breaks into song. Like falling off a log, as they say where I’m from, like falling off a log. She is doing what she was meant to do and I’m so very glad she is. “Urge for Going” is set to mark Dede Wyland’s rightful place in the history of modern bluegrass.

Missy Raines - Missy Raines and the New Hip more.....

CD-317

Cane Mill Road
Gap to Gap
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Growing up just down the road from Doc Watson, Billboard-charting artists Cane Mill Road rock the traditional bluegrass standards they grew up on, yet boldly tackle writing original music that often walks the lines between Bluegrass, Americana, Old-time, and Folk.

The four young men roam the Blue Ridge Mountains backroads driving between Deep Gap, NC and Rocky Gap, VA to meet and make music together – thus the title track of the band's sophomore album Gap to Gap. the title signifies more than just the long hours on the road touring, but the spaces between the bluegrass foundation of the band's youth and the new spaces of music they create together. Honoring the past, the band looks to the future with a blended set of traditional and progressive music.

CD-320

Al Jones, Billy Baker & Dee Gunter
Just a Memory
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CD-319

Victor Furtado
Dellorto Island
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From sheaves of banjo designs submitted to the U.S. Patent Office to entire styles named after its most revered players, inventiveness marks the banjo’s history. The 18th- century slaves exiled to the New World crafted from cultural memory and available resources half-gourds that they strung with catgut stretched down a long handle. The resulting instrument, one witness recalled, produced a “wild pleasing melancholy sound,” while another described the players’ fingers as moving like a handsaw. First-person accounts detailed banjo songs that intensified as they unspooled, each thrumming passage building on the next.
          These pre-industrial patterns survived the centuries: a modern clawhammer banjoist at a festival jam, whose right hand rhythmically plies down on steel strings in sawing motion, plays a tune as if entranced. Fellow musicians huddled in the same circle find new ripples within the soulful melody, while others repeat chiming tones. Eventually someone gestures, signaling the tune’s close. more.....

CD-315

Five Mile Mountain Road

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Growing up in coastal Virginia, I heard my share of bluegrass and old time music. Even as a boy I could hear the differences between the two, as well as their shared roots. But something I didn’t recognize until I relocated to the Appalachian region was that old time musicians in the mountains didn’t always play stately, rural chamber music like the folks I had heard growing up. Out here the music is rough and rowdy, furious and impolite, and plain old fun to listen to as well as play.

That’s Five Mile Mountain Road to a T. They play a highly entertaining style that is as raucous as it is authentic. For the purist, think Charlie Poole and Clark Kessinger, but with a touch of early country and western swing thrown in for good measure.    more.....

CD-280 - 4 CD set

The Blue Sky Boys
1939-1949 Radio Broadcasts
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When Bill and Earl Bolick returned from World War II and the army in 1945, their future looked unpromising.   Since 1941, they’d fought in Europe (Earl) and the South Pacific (Bill), while nearly all pre-war Blue Sky Boys records vanished from the catalog.  Newer western and honky tonk styles gave their austere hymns and heartbreak songs minimal juke box potential, and  Billboard condescendingly dismissed them as “strictly from the haystacks,”  claiming their appeal was limited to the “old folks at home.”  more.....

CD-309

John Colianni
I Never Knew
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CD-307

Brennen Ernst
Had a Big Time Today
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Had a Big Time Today

Brennen Ernst is a multi-instrumental multi-genre musical daredevil. In his career thus far he has taken on—and mastered—piano, banjo, and guitar, adding tenor vocals and exploring multiple genres—bluegrass and old time, jazz and swing. In this project he focuses on some of his favorite banjo pieces. more.....

CD-313

Daniel Greeson
Done Gone
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Fiddler Daniel Greeson says this recording experience was “a blast.” He had a great group of musicians – Taylor Baker, Casey Driscoll, Brennen Ernst, Danny Knicely, Corrina Rose Logston and Marshall Wilborn to work with, and he selected tunes that suit his style and satisfy his continuing aspiration to reach high.
      On the title number, Done Gone, Greeson’s bow never seems to leave the strings despite the tune’s multiple switchbacks and hairpin curves. Fiddle standards from many genres demonstrate Greeson’s comfort zone as he easily takes hold on some festival favorites: more.....