Scenic Roots Uses Dulcimer for Unique Sound!

While we were in Nashville for the 2011 IBMA World of Bluegrass Conference, we were introduced by Carolyn and Daniel Routh of Nu-Blu to two delightful young ladies who perform as Scenic Roots.

Scenic Roots is a sister duo which combines old-time mountain melodies, bluegrass drive, Irish traditions, and down-home humor. They will take you on a scenic journey as they weave their many musical influences together to create a unique blend of roots music. You’ll feel like you’ve gone back in time to the days when folks gathered on front porches to play and sing together.

The ladies have provided us with a copy of their debut video which accompanies their new single released this fall.

Older sister Erin plays the mountain dulcimer and younger sister Amber, a former Kansas State Fiddle champion, plays fiddle and banjo.

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The two are currently touring in the Southeast United States where they are also working on a new album in the studio with Daniel Routh (Nu-Blu) and will head to the west in the summer of 2012.

To find out more about Scenic Roots, visit their website HERE!

Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings On NPR's Fresh Air!

Fresh Air's Terry Gross returns today to interview Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings about their new CD, The Harrow and The Harvest.

..."We've kind of half-jokingly said that this record is 10 different kinds of sad," Welch tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. ...

In some markets the show has already aired and will air tonight in other markets.

The transcript and audio file are already available on the NPR Website or LISTEN HERE. (Audio Player at bottom of this story).  The musical duo perform live on the show.

1st Gillian Welch CD in Eight Years Released This Week!

After a too-long abstinence from recording to suit her ravenous fans, Gillian Welch with singing partner David Rawlings have released  "The Harvest and the Harrow"

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The Harrow & the Harvest, her first album in eight long years, is perfectly timed to coincide with the tenth anniversary of O Brother.  Retreating from the full-band sound of 2003’s Soul Journey, these new songs are defiantly spare and spectral, featuring mostly the dueling guitars and voices of Welch and longtime partner Dave Rawlings.  

Their playing sounds tighter and more intuitive than ever, opening up songs like “Down Along the Dixie Line” and “The Way It Will Be” and setting their elegant guitar lines—picked more often than strummed—at eloquently cross purposes.

 The Harrow & The Harvest was recorded at her own Woodland Sound Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and was produced by guitarist and collaborator David Rawlings.

The Harrow & The Harvest Track Listing:

1. Scarlet Town
2. Dark Turn Of Mind
3. The Way It Will Be
4. The Way It Goes
5. Tennessee
6. Down Along The Dixie Line
7. Six White Horses
8. Hard Times
9. Silver Dagger
10. The Way The Whole Thing Ends