Lonesome River Band

Though they’re acclaimed as masters of contemporary bluegrass, the Lonesome River Band issue a reminder of their long-standing appreciation for old-time string band music with a new Mountain Home Music Company single, “Cumberland River Shore.” And though it’s not about him, the song, from its writing to recording, is suffused with the spirit and sound of the late and legendary John Hartford.

The latest single from Bluegrass at the Crossroads, the innovative collaborative project featuring artists drawn mostly from the rosters of Mountain Home Music Company and Organic Records, presents the series’ second ensemble, first heard on the January bluegrass gospel release, “Lift Your Voice, Bow Your Head.” Serving as a musical meeting ground for musicians working in a broad range of bluegrass styles, “On The Lonesome Breeze” showcases rich creativity, deep skills — and a lot of musical muscle, too.

In the wake of “Love Songs,” their most recent bluegrass single, the iconic Lonesome River Band offers an energetic reminder that it is not only one of the best interpreters of secular bluegrass, but of bluegrass gospel, too. “Little At A Time,” from the collective pen of the legendary Easter Brothers, is a muscular affirmation of faith and perseverance married to what aficionados will immediately recognize as the quintet’s signature groove.  

Though it’s known as a genre filled with sad, lonesome songs — "plumb pitiful" is a phrase often heard — it’s nonetheless true that bluegrass music, like classic country, has room for the occasional wry, self-deprecating song about lost love, too.

After nearly four decades, the award-winning Lonesome River Band can look back at a career filled with hits that have become as firmly entrenched in the bluegrass parking lot pickers’ songbook as any first generation classic. And though many of its members have long since gone on to other ventures, the band’s quintessential musical hallmarks — hard-grooving rhythm, sparkling banjo, distinctive leads and smooth, yet muscular harmonies — have not just survived but matured, and always in service of the song.

The trails and celebrations of American life over the last three centuries are chronicled in various strains of acoustic music. From Appalachian music, the Piedmont Blues to American Folk, these various styles and musical instruments come together to convey the sentiment that embodies the heart of America. 
 

Lonesome River Band will kick off today's new album release, Bridging the Tradition (Mountain Home Music) with three special performances this weekend.

Lonesome River Band had been established for nearly a decade when the band released its landmark album, Carrying the Tradition, in 1991. The critically acclaimed project ushered in a new era for Bluegrass by acknowledging tradition while introducing new elements that expanded the genre.

Now, 25 years later, this award-winning band is again set to build on the familiar while adding bold progressiveness to its legend with this latest release, Bridging the Tradition (Mountain Home Music Company).

For more than three decades, Lonesome River Band has set a standard that other Bluegrass groups have aspired towards. They have returned to live up to that standard with their first original studio release in four years, Turn on a Dime, from Mountain Home Music Company.

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