Tag: crossroads label group

WATCH: Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters, “New York”

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Artist: Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters
Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina
Song: “New York”
Label: Organic Records

In Their Words: “I always get ideas for videos when I’m listening to mixes in the car. My 20-month-old daughter really took a shine to this song one day while I was listening and started demanding it every time we got in the car… over and over and over. So I had a lot of time to visualize the story. It’s a song I wrote about leaving the house that I grew up in, and kind of saying goodbye to that younger version of myself. Our friend Gretchen Kauffman did such a great job as little Amanda! We had a really fun time.” — Amanda Anne Platt

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

LISTEN: Phil Leadbetter, “I Will Always Love You”

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Artist: Phil Leadbetter
Hometown: Knoxville, Tennessee
Song: “I Will Always Love You”
Album: Masters of Slide: Spider Sessions (Various Artists)
Release Date: June 25, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I always loved this tune. I remember the first time I heard Dolly sing this live, it just killed me! Not only her voice, but the lyrics to the song were so heart-wrenching. I saw her many times telling the story about how the song came about. The story is a very sad one. I used to drive around and listen to that song from several of Dolly’s compilation albums, and it always had such a great melody that I kept hearing in my head over and over. I started messing with it, and liked the direction it was going. In 2010, I got a brand new Scheerhorn guitar. I was at a friend of mine’s home, and I was curious to see how the guitar sounded. I started noodling around and playing different songs to see how the new guitar sounded. My friend told me that I should seriously think about keeping the track. The track got lost over the years, but one day while looking through a bunch of files, I found it!! Me and my engineer worked on it, and I had thought about using it a few years back. So happy I saved it so it could be part of the Masters of Slide album.” — Phil Leadbetter

Photo courtesy of Phil Leadbetter

LISTEN: Tray Wellington, “Pond Mountain Breakaway”

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Artist: Tray Wellington
Hometown: Originally from Ashe County, North Carolina and now calls Johnson City, Tennessee home
Song: “Pond Mountain Breakaway”
Release Date: May 28, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I actually wrote the main riff to this song while playing electric guitar — but then, while playing banjo the same day, I tried it out with more of a bluegrass feel, and thought, ‘Wow, it would be cool to write a fast, upbeat instrumental around it.’ When recording, I got to the session late because my car broke down on the way, and while I was trying to think of a name for the tune during the actual recording session, Wayne Benson, who plays mandolin on the track, asked me, ‘Where did you break down?’ I replied, ‘A place called Pond Mountain,’ and he said, ‘Call it “Pond Mountain Breakdown.” I thought that was a great idea, but as I was thinking about it later, I realized that I don’t get a full breakdown vibe from this tune — and when I thought that a little variation in bluegrass titles wouldn’t be a bad thing, I decided to make a slight change to ‘Pond Mountain Breakaway.’” — Tray Wellington

Photo credit: Rob Laughter

LISTEN: The Grascals, “Thankful”

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Artist: The Grascals
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Thankful”
Release Date: May 21, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “The lyrics to our new single are a powerful and wonderful reminder of just how much we all have to be thankful for, and especially now more than ever! I think this song really touched all of our hearts, which made it an easy choice to record, and we’re so glad that the writers — Daryl Mosley and Rick Lang — brought it to The Grascals. ‘Thankful’ makes you pause and reflect on the truly important things in life and where our blessings come from, and I hope all of the listeners will really focus on the words of this song. I know it has helped me keep a brighter disposition while not being able to travel and see my music family and friends — and you just can’t help but smile when you hear it. The Grascals truly are ‘Thankful’!” — John Bryan, singer/guitarist, The Grascals

Photo credit: Kim Lancaster Brantley

LISTEN: The Gina Furtado Project, “Kansas City Railroad Blues”

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Artist: The Gina Furtado Project
Hometown: Winchester, Virginia
Song: “Kansas City Railroad Blues”
Release Date: April 9, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “How in the world I made it all these years as a banjo player and not heard of ‘Kansas City Railroad Blues,’ I have no idea. Nonetheless, I heard this tune for the very first time last year and it quickly became my new favorite. This tune has the magic fire that drew me to the banjo as a kid and hasn’t let me put it down since. I chose it knowing it would be a great way to show off the hot pickers in the band. It provides a perfect template for Drew and Malia to exhibit their pristine swing style chops. This is also the first single of ours that includes our newest band member, Lu Furtado. And boy, does she make a grand entrance with her stellar bass playing! Lastly, Wayne Benson and Kristin Scott Benson, joining us on mandolin and from the producer’s chair, respectively, made this a super special recording. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed recording it!” — Gina Furtado

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

LISTEN: Acoustic Syndicate, “Sunny”

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Artist: Acoustic Syndicate
Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina
Song: “Sunny”
Release Date: April 9, 2021
Label: Organic Records

In Their Words: “‘Sunny’ is one of those things that’s been on my ‘list of things to finish’ for quite some time. Based on an idea for a short story that I was working on some years ago, it’s a discussion about love, coping with loss, hope, and ultimately, redemption. I’ve been carrying that melody around in my head for years and finally got lucky enough to find the right words to go with it. The tune was one that I was kinda holding in reserve for a possible solo project at some point. After putting it together and sharing with the other fellas, they were all in to record it. The piano (Brian Felix) and violin (Lyndsay Pruett) were part of the original idea, and it was such a pleasure to watch it materialize in the studio on a super solid track by Fitz, Bryon, and Jay. Being back in the studio after seven years has been a real treat. I love the process of recording, and I have missed it very much. Our engineer, Clay Miller, is a ‘steely eyed missile man’ and has the patience of Job! He makes the recording process an absolute joy. I’m so grateful and honored to be making new music with these dudes again.” — Steve McMurry, Acoustic Syndicate

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

LISTEN: The Alex Leach Band, “The Turntable”

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Artist: The Alex Leach Band
Hometown: Jacksboro, Tennessee
Song: “The Turntable”
Album: I’m The Happiest When I’m Moving
Release Date: March 26, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘The Turntable’ is a song I wrote while on a layover at the Houston Airport. I was thinking about both of my grandfathers who taught me about music as they played songs for me on a turntable when I was a little boy. I’ll never forget those days and how I felt when the vintage music started flowing out of that turntable.” — Alex Leach

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

LISTEN: Andy Leftwich, “Through the East Gate”

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Artist: Andy Leftwich
Hometown: Carthage, Tennessee
Song: “Through the East Gate”
Release Date: March 19, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘Through the East Gate’ is a tune I wrote with the thought in mind of combining old-style fiddling with the new style of fiddlers that we hear today. I’ve always loved old traditional fiddling, and I wanted to somehow capture both the feel of the old style and combine it with the exciting licks and melodies that the newer style brings. This song reminds me of friends and family coming together to play music and to have a great time! I was so honored to have the legendary Mark Schatz join me on bass and clawhammer banjo. After we cut the track, we couldn’t resist recording a track of him dancing to this one!” — Andy Leftwich

Photo credit: Erick Anderson

LISTEN: Lonesome River Band, “Love Songs”

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Artist: Lonesome River Band
Hometown: Floyd, Virginia
Song: “Love Songs”
Release Date: February 19, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘Love Songs’ is another great song written by our friend Adam Wright. It tells the story of a songwriter who has had bad experiences with love and can’t find ways to be positive about it. The lyrics depict the songwriter’s frustration: ‘They say write in what you know / And all I really know is the losin’ and the leavin and the left.’ Adam puts a comedic twist to selling sad songs, and Brandon Rickman, our guitarist and vocalist, portrays it in his unique way.” — Sammy Shelor, Lonesome River Band

Photo credit: Anthony Ladd

WATCH: Sideline, “Just a Guy in a Bar”

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Artist: Sideline
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina
Song: “Just a Guy in a Bar”
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “In both recording and performing this song, we knew needed something special in terms of visual representation. The story speaks for itself, but capturing the emotion and weight of the story required more than just musically performing it on camera. We put our heads together and found a way to play the whole story out, piece by piece. It was a lot of fun working with actors and professionally creative minds that knew exactly what to do to suck the viewer in. It gives an already strong, deep song so much more dimension.” — Skip Cherryholmes

Photo credit: Mountain Home Music Company