
The Lonesome Road Review
153 FOLLOWERS
Bluegrass, Americana, and everything else that sounds good.
The Lonesome Road Review
4y ago
Corky Siegel’s Chamber Blues
Different Voices
Dawnserly Records
4 stars (out of 5)
By Donald Teplyske
One of my favourite and most memorable live performances was a Edmonton Folk Music Festival showcase featuring the SteelDrivers and Hanggai interacting to create a bluegrass-Mongolian throat-singing amalgam that was more than brilliant.
I mention that 2009 event because up to the moment I started listening to Different Voices, it may have been the last time I was so impressed by disparate musicians working together in a manner that isn’t just surprising, but also invigorating and enjoyabl ..read more
The Lonesome Road Review
4y ago
Lesley Kernochan
A Calm Sun
Maple Syrup Music
4½ stars (out of 5)
By Donald Teplyske
A traveller of life’s experiences, Lesley Kernochan creates mature, expressive Laurel Canyon-inspired folk-rock tilted toward its country edges. A Calm Sun weaves elements of literature, poetic symbolism, and warm musical influences into a personal presentation of modern Americana that is as distinctive as it is inspired.
While hints of voices as diverse as Frazey Ford, Iris DeMent, and Dori Freeman may resonate within Kernochan’s, taken in its entirety it is unique—she doesn’t sound like anyone but ..read more
The Lonesome Road Review
4y ago
Brock Zeman
The Carnival Is Back In Town
Busted Flat Records
4 stars (out of 5)
By Donald Teplyske
Anyone who has read Truevine, Beth Macy’s detailed account of George and Willie Muse, youngsters absconded by talent procurers in early 1900s Roanoke, VA understands that circuses and carnivals are not for those with gentle sensitivities. Haven’t read the book? You should.
Similarly, an episode or two of Carnivàle will dissuade the naïve from believing that what one experiences from the front of house is the reality of those involved in traveling shows.
Like Fred Eaglesmith, Brock Zeman is ..read more
The Lonesome Road Review
4y ago
Eric Bibb
Migration Blues
Stony Plain Records
4½ stars (out of 5)
By Donald Teplyske
Few artists record forty-plus albums. Fewer still seldom repeat themselves.
Eric Bibb is one such musician, a bluesman who doesn’t fit the mould. Like Ray Davies, you sometimes overlook Bibb, but when he releases an album or comes to your town, you either take notice or live with regret.
Within a tradition that stretches into the past via Fannie Lou Hamer, Bill Broonzy, Barbara Dane, Pete Seeger, and Brother John Sellers, as well as innumerable traditional blues voices, on Migration Blues Bibb surveys hi ..read more
The Lonesome Road Review
4y ago
Courtney Granger
Beneath Still Waters
Valcour Records
4 stars (out of 5)
By Larry Stephens
With Beneath Still Waters, Courtney Granger steps out from his role as fiddle player for both Balfa Toujours and the Pine Leaf Boys—a four time Grammy nominated Cajun/Zydeco/Rock ‘n Roll band from Lafayette, Louisiana—to sing and play guitar as well. Granger plays his Cajun fiddle too along with Jamey Bearb and Joel Savoy. (Unfortunately, there’s no track-by-track credits to tell who fiddles where).
Granger, a grandnephew of Cajun music legends the Balfa Brothers, is jo ..read more
The Lonesome Road Review
4y ago
Tom Ewing
Adventures of a Blue Grass Boy
Patuxent Music
By Donald Teplyske
Tom Ewing is bona fide bluegrass.
As Bill Monroe’s final lead singer, Ewing played with the Blue Grass Boys for about ten years and appeared on the Grammy-winning Southern Flavor album. Additionally, Ewing played with Earl Taylor and the Stoney Mountain Boys, David Davis and the Warrior River Boys, and Jim & Jesse McReynolds, among others. Ewing has written the “Thirty Years Ago this Month” column for Bluegrass Unlimited, and compiled and edited The Bill Monroe Reader. So, yeah.
Adventures of a Blue Grass Boy h ..read more
The Lonesome Road Review
4y ago
Rob Benzing
Rob Benzing
Patuxent Music
By Donald Teplyske
Other than that he is a young banjo player from Maryland, there isn’t too much on the Internet about Rob Benzing. His music will need to speak for itself, and that isn’t a bad idea.
Comprised of eight instrumentals and five vocal numbers, Rob Benzing is a satisfying introduction to Benzing’s banjo offerings. Working with fiddler Patrick McAvinue, Benzing has arranged these numbers to showcase his playing without pushing accompanists to the background. Within such a mature presentation one can fully appreciate the contributions of ..read more
The Lonesome Road Review
4y ago
Front CountryOther Love SongsOrganic Records
4 stars (out of 5)
By Donald Teplyske
Front Country and its principals never attempted to fit into a tidy box neatly labeled ‘bluegrass.’ They flirted with it—We Made It Home was produced by Laurie Lewis, the group showcased in Raleigh a couple of IBMA conferences ago, and lead singer Melody Walker picked up a Momentum Award last fall—but to these ears their music was usually out among the stakes and guy ropes of the big tent. Heck, even broader, more tolerant terms—alt.country, Americana, and folk-pop—fell short of capturing the Front Country ..read more
The Lonesome Road Review
4y ago
The Gibson BrothersIn The GroundRounder Records
4½ stars (out of 5)
By Donald Teplyske
With a consistent approach to bluegrass instrumentation and arguably the finest country-influenced vocals in the genre, the Gibson Brothers have—for a decade now—been one of the top-performing acts.
Recording for more than twenty years, the Gibsons—Leigh (guitar) and Eric (banjo)—along with long-term bandmates Mike Barber (bass) and Clayton Campbell (fiddle), as well as veteran journeyman Jesse Brock (mandolin)—have delivered album after album of audience-pleasing bluegrass, instilling their approach with so ..read more
The Lonesome Road Review
4y ago
Corky Siegel’s Chamber Blues
Different Voices
Dawnserly Records
4 stars (out of 5)
By Donald Teplyske
One of my favourite and most memorable live performances was a Edmonton Folk Music Festival showcase featuring the SteelDrivers and Hanggai interacting to create a bluegrass-Mongolian throat-singing amalgam that was more than brilliant.
I mention that 2009 event because up to the moment I started listening to Different Voices, it may have been the last time I was so impressed by disparate musicians working together in a manner that isn’t just surprising, but also invigorating and enjoyabl ..read more