WATCH: Punch Brothers, “Church Street Blues”

Artist: Punch Brothers
Song: “Church Street Blues”
Album: Hell on Church Street
Release Date: January 14, 2022
Label: Nonesuch Records

Editor’s Note: Recorded at Nashville’s Blackbird Studio in November 2020, during a time of great uncertainty, Hell on Church Street is the band’s reimagining of, and homage to, the late bluegrass great Tony Rice’s landmark solo album, Church Street Blues. The record features a collection of songs by Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, Bill Monroe, and others. It was intended as both its own work of art and a gift to Rice, who died that Christmas.

In Their Words: “No record (or musician) has had a greater impact on us, and we felt compelled to cover it in its entirety, with the objective of interacting with it in the same spirit of respect-fueled adventure that Tony brought to each of its pre-existing songs.” — Punch Brothers


Photo credit: Josh Goleman

WATCH: The Unseen Strangers, “Church Street Blues”

Artist: The Unseen Strangers
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
Song: “Church Street Blues”

In Their Words: “We are massive Norman Blake fans in the Unseen Strangers and are always working up different songs of his. I started listening to this one when I first got into bluegrass guitar and digging into the music of Tony Rice, so there’s quite a bit of his version in there. ‘Church Street Blues’ is certainly a flatpicking classic and we are excited to share our arrangement with this video. It was recorded live in the Back 40 forest at the Tottenham Bluegrass Festival in Ontario. When we can’t agree on what song to play next we always just play this one.” — Adam Shier


Photo credit: Emma-Lee