Bluegrass Barn
Pinecastle, 2019
9/10
The esteemed North Carolina outfit led my banjo virtuoso Garrett Newton returns with a handful of new tunes that will be sure to satiate any and all fans of traditional bluegrass sounds.
“Take Me Home To Momma” starts the listen with warm, harmonic bluegrass, where group vocals and intricate picking highlight the affair, and the title track follows with a similar spirt of timeless melodies in the rural fun.
Elsewhere, “Back To Hancock County” is a quick display of string acrobatics alongside storytelling about country life, while the lightning fast instrumentation in the vocal-less “Daybreak At Dixie” illustrates a level of skill that few possess.
At the end, “The Boys Are Back In Town” bares little resemblance to Thin Lizzy and instead emits breezy melodies and expressive singing, and “Leaning On The Everlasting Arms” ends the listen with playful balladry and some of the best vocal harmonies in recent history.
Amazingly, Newton is just a teenager, but plays and writes like an old soul, and he’s in great company as Parks Icenhour, Allen Dyer, Lorraine Jordan, Daniel Aldridge and Chris Hill lend their talents to help make Bluegrass Barn one of the best of the genre for 2019.
Travels well with: Jesse McReynolds & Friends- Play The Bull Mountain Moonshiner’s Way; Merle Monroe- Back To The Country