Article Contributed by Mountain Home Music Company
Published on 2026-03-01
“Though my familial roots are deeply planted in Western North Carolina, I was raised in Eden, NC — the home of Charlie Poole,” says Jesse Smathers, by way of introducing his latest single for Mountain Home Music Company, a lively rendition of “Take a Drink on Me,” a favorite from the legendary banjo picker and band leader’s high-spirited catalogue. It’s a perfect example of the mashup of bluegrass and old time string band music that’s at the center of Smathers’ musical vision — the one he pursues when he’s not working at his “day job” as guitarist and lead singer of bluegrass hitmakers, Lonesome River Band.
“I spent my youth picking and competing at the Charlie Poole Festival, in Eden,” he continues. “The festival was held at Morehead Park, on the same grounds where the cotton mill Poole used to work at once stood. I heard the music of Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers ringing throughout my childhood. He along with his bandmates were some of the most prominent precursors to bluegrass stylings that came nearly twenty years later, and tales of Poole, and [bandmates] Posey Rorer and Norman Woodlief are still being told today, as you would expect with such larger than life personalities and musicians.
“I often imagine this scene: I’m walking down Morgan Road in Spray (one of three small communities that made up Eden) in 1926, and hear the bounce of Piedmont mill music in the distance. As I approach, I witness the North Carolina Ramblers sitting on a stoop sharing tunes and a jug of the best white liquor that the area along the NC/VA line is so notorious for producing.”
“That sight,” Smathers continues, “is exactly what came to mind when recording ‘Take a Drink on Me,’ and what comes to mind when I hear it back. This tune is a prime example of early popular dance music. Hunter Berry on fiddle masterfully captured the necessary musical essences, all while integrating his own spontaneous and playful liveliness. The same can be said of Corbin Hayslett who mixed in popping Charlie Poole banjo techniques. Whether it’s a Coke, glass of tea, a beer, or a jar of Shooting Creek’s finest, all you rounders get ready to party and ‘Take a Drink on Me’!”
Listen to “Take A Drink on Me” HERE.
