After their last single, a grim tale of a doomed riverboat, you might think that Western North Carolina’s premier bluegrass group would want to lighten the mood with their next one. But that’s not the bluegrass way, and it’s definitely not true for Balsam Range — though to tell the truth, compared to “The Pacific,” the uncertainty of love at a distance that is the subject of “Virginia Girl” could seem positively uplifting. And the story of how this record came to be offers its own kind of inspiration.
Written and sung by the group’s guitarist, Caleb Smith, “Virginia Girl” unfolds as a driving, straightforward story of a man whose life on the road is in constant conflict with his desire to be at home:
Somewhere on the road, a thousand miles from home
And I can’t seem to get you off my mind
A different dive every night, thick smoke and dingy lights
And I’m missing my Virginia girl tonight
…
And I’m longing to hold you again
I go back in my mind to the places we have been
I’m walking with you right now in the back roads of my mind
And I’m missing my Virginia girl tonight
First recorded by Smith well over a decade ago, “Virginia Girl” had never been released before Smith brought it to the group.
“In 2013 I was putting together some tunes for a solo album, and Patton Wages was my first call to help me with his killer banjo playing. I first met Patton at Everett’s Music Barn in Suwanee, GA around 2005, and I immediately was a fan. We became friends and stayed in touch. He became Balsam Range’s first call if Marc Pruett ever needed to miss a gig, and Patton always filled Marc’s great picking with greatness of his own,” says Smith. “I wrote ‘Virginia Girl’ in March of 2013, and it was slated to be on my solo album, along with ‘God Knows,’ ‘The Touch,’ a few more originals, and a few standards. Along with Patton, Aaron Ramsey, Adam Steffey, and Nicky Sanders helped me create the album.”
“Since then, I’ve sat on the tune and the album, frequently revisiting it when Balsam Range needed a tune to add to one of our albums, but ‘Virginia Girl’ has remained unused for 12 years….until now!” he adds.
Impelled by the goal of paying tribute to Wages — a gifted player whose early 2021 stroke forced his retirement from playing — Smith worked with engineer Clay Miller to combine Wages’ playing with that of Balsam Range stalwart Marc Pruett into a seamless whole. “It worked flawlessly, as if it were meant to be!” Smith says.
As the song proceeds, the two banjo players’ contributions are interwoven with solos from Smith, IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year nominee Alan Bibey, and guest fiddler and harmony singer Don Rigsby, underpinned by the steady pulse of award-winning bassist and harmony singer Tim Surrett.
The result is an emblematic recording that uses modern technology and techniques to create a performance that embodies not just a traditional theme in Balsam Range’s classically distinctive style, but also the spirit of camaraderie and community that pervade the bluegrass world.
Adds Smith, “Patton, I’m honored that you agreed to this, and I’m honored to be your friend! We hope you enjoy ‘Virginia Girl.’”
"Virginia Girl" is streaming in Dolby Atmos spatial audio on Apple Music, Amazon Music and TIDAL. Listen to it HERE.
