LISTEN: Acoustic Syndicate, “All In Time”

Artist: Acoustic Syndicate
Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina
Song: “All In Time”
Album: All In Time
Release Date: July 15, 2022
Label: Organic Records

In Their Words: “This song has a great story. I sat down one warm, sunny afternoon last fall and wrote this song down in about 15 minutes at my kitchen bar. It literally flew out! I had the chords all figured out, wrote the lyrics down, sang through it three or four times, then got up to go outside for a minute. When I came back…it was gone. I had the words there, the chords were all there, but the original rhythm was gone. I never got it back. To this day, I still haven’t stumbled back on that exact, original rhythm, which was kinda genius, if I may be so bold. I even went to Jay’s house one day and we searched for that original rhythm, based on my words, for like an entire afternoon. Nothing. What I wound up doing was recording a really square, very uninteresting demo one afternoon, after finishing up some of my other vocals at Crossroads Studios. I took that, passed it around to the fellas and we all thought about it for a couple of weeks.

“By the time we got together for rehearsals, I had somehow come up with an alternative rhythm that wasn’t so square and a little off-beat and wide open with tons of space. I left these spaces for Fitz to fill with selective, tasteful and powerful drum fills, eventually culminating in a giant yet tangible and driving rhythm. Serendipity! As luck would have it, we actually made one of our strongest tunes to date. I am very proud of this track, and grateful for Fitz’s magnificent drums, and Jay’s soulful, intimate and emotional bass work. It is important to note here that on the day that Jay recorded his solo — literally right before he walked into the booth — we had just learned of the passing of Taylor Hawkins, longtime Foo Fighters drummer and lifelong best friend of Dave Grohl, of Foo Fighters and Nirvana. Jay said he was doing that solo for Dave. (Read more below the player.)

Crossroads Label Group · 01 All In Time

“The words are just my account of needing to catch my breath. I have many character flaws. One of the worst is my perpetual propensity to commit myself to absolutely more than I can do on a daily basis. The job, the band, the farm, and until recently, aging parents… all of it. I always get myself with my back to the wall, and I always swear to myself that I will never do that again. I do it anyway…like the next day. All too often, I find myself completely overwhelmed, in a panic and exhausted. Many are the days that I forget to just pause, look around, breathe the air, appreciate my surroundings, have gratitude, recognize the love that I have in my life and try to turn down the volume of living for a moment. To quietly contemplate where I am, as an individual, where we are, as a people, and where all of this may be headed.

“‘All In Time’ is also a reflective appreciation for something my dad, Joe, would say when the times of the world become frightening, chaotic and without direction, like they are now. I’ve come to lean on these words more and more in recent years…now, more than ever: ‘When things become uncertain like this…when the world seems like it’s out of control and we can’t help but be scared and anxious about the state of things…no matter how bad it gets, unless there is something we can do about it, we just have to have faith, be patient, keep on doing the best that we can…and trust that people will eventually do the right thing in the end.'” — Steve McMurry, Acoustic Syndicate


Photo Credit: Sandlin Gaither

LISTEN: Ashby Frank, “Jump on It”

Artist: Ashby Frank
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Jump on It”
Release Date: June 24, 2022
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I have been a fan of this Pat and Pamela Terry composition since I heard it when I was a teenager. We started adding into our shows with The Likely Culprits a few years ago, and it always went over well with our audiences — but it got an especially raucous response from the crowd when we were out on tour opening for Jamey Johnson a few years ago. So when I started this project, I knew that I wanted to record it, and I had some ideas in my head about how to make the music fit the vibe of the lyrics. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that it would turn out like it did, but with the help of my co-producer Brandon Bostic, so many amazing musicians, and the backing voices of some of my friends who also happen to be legends in their own fields, I think we got a cut that is very special. I am so proud of this track!” — Ashby Frank

Crossroads Label Group · Jump On It – Ashby Frank

Photo Credit: Melissa DuPuy

LISTEN: Unspoken Tradition, “Soldiers of Dust”

Artist: Unspoken Tradition
Hometown: Cherryville, North Carolina
Song: “Soldiers of Dust”
Album: Imaginary Lines
Release Date: June 10, 2022
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘Soldiers of Dust’ was written to represent multiple viewpoints of the world in the wake of the social unrest spurred on by the hardships of the pandemic. Every line in the song was intended to be a stand-alone idea to be interpreted in more than one way. There are references to working-class struggles, fear of change, gentrification, and the tyranny that can come with the deliberate removal of nuance. It was inspired by my own learning experience of how to relate to people who have different worldviews than me and the reward that comes from having empathy towards those views. ‘We live in these cities of rust, like soldiers of dust’ is a metaphor for what could happen if we are not willing to meet people where they are and we end up in a losing battle and in a society not worth having.” — Ty Gilpin, Unspoken Tradition

Crossroads Label Group · 04 Soldiers Of Dust

Photo Credit: Sandlin Gaither

LISTEN: The Little Roy & Lizzy Show, “Time for Me to Fly” (REO Speedwagon Cover)

Artist: The Little Roy & Lizzy Show
Hometown: Lincolnton, Georgia
Song: “Time for Me to Fly”
Album: Welcome to the Show
Release Date: April 29, 2022
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “The song ‘Time for Me to Fly’ is one of my favorite cuts on this new album, Welcome to the Show. I love the story behind it and the feeling. It is toe-tapping good. It was fun to arrange an REO Speedwagon song and make it bluegrass — and also leaning on Dolly Parton’s version to make it have that excitement! The whole album is amazingly fun and uplifting. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did making it.” — Lizzy Long, The Little Roy & Lizzy Show

Crossroads Label Group · 08 Time For Me To Fly

Photo Credit: Lauren Tankersley Palmer

LISTEN: Benson, “Conway”

Artist: Benson (Kristin Scott Benson and Wayne Benson)
Hometown: Boiling Springs, South Carolina
Song: “Conway”
Release Date: February 18, 2022
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: Kristin: After 20 plus years of marriage, we’re finally getting around to recording some music together.

Wayne: Yep. I’ve played on Kristin’s solo projects and we’ve both played as session players on a lot of the same projects for other artists, but this is the first collaboration between us.

Kristin: One thing I love about doing this is that we get to record some of Wayne’s instrumentals. On my banjo records, I only recorded tunes I wrote that featured banjo, but I always hear what he’s writing and wish they were mine. (laughs)

Wayne: This is exciting for me because none of my original instrumental music has been recorded in a long while. I had the Instrumental Anthology album that was all-original and was largely compiled from the Bluegrass ’90s series. We added a few to make an entire record. I’ve recorded a few originals with Russell (of Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out), but I’ve had a lot of songs just sitting there.

Kristin: And “Conway” is one of those! I like the groove on this one and I think that’s why the folks at Mountain Home liked it. It’s got a simple melody that anybody can hum, but then on the B part, it really grooves with electric bass.

Wayne: That’s mainly why I demoed it. I’m a closet electric bass player and it was a chance for me to have fun doing that. Paul Watson really did a great job and Tony Creasman added some nice, tasteful percussion.

Crossroads Label Group · Conway – Benson

Photo Credit: Sandlin Gaither

LISTEN: Lonesome River Band, “Mary Ann Is a Pistol”

Artist: Lonesome River Band
Hometown: Floyd, Virginia
Song: “Mary Ann Is a Pistol”
Release Date: February 4, 2022
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “The LRB has been doing the Jimmy Martin classic, ‘Mary Ann,’ since around 1985. And it’s been a mainstay in our live shows ever since. Last year, I was digging through a bunch of cassettes I had from the ’80s and ’90s — I still love the sound of them — and ran across one of my favorite records ever by Brother Phelps (check them out if you haven’t heard these albums) recorded in 1995. They did a rocking version of this Dennis Linde song, and the more I listened to it, the more it became a bluegrass song in my head and a perfect song to follow the Jimmy Martin ‘Mary Ann.’ We hope you enjoy our version of ‘Mary Ann Is a Pistol!’” — Sammy Shelor, Lonesome River Band

Crossroads Label Group · Mary Ann Is A Pistol – Lonesome River Band

Photo credit: Courtesy of Lonesome River Band

Carolina Calling, Asheville: A Retreat for the Creative Spirit

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Asheville, North Carolina’s history as a music center goes back to the 1920s and string-band troubadours like Lesley Riddle and Bascom Lamar Lunsford, and country-music pioneer Jimmie Rodgers. But there’s always been a lot more to this town than acoustic music and scenic mountain views. From the experimental Black Mountain College that drew a range of minds as diverse as German artist Josef Albers, composer John Cage, and Albert Einstein, Asheville was also the spiritual home for electronic-music pioneer Bob Moog, who invented the Moog synthesizer first popularized by experimental bands like Kraftwerk to giant disco hits like Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love.”

It’s also a town where busking culture ensures that music flows from every street corner, and it’s the adopted hometown of many modern musicians in a multitude of genres, including Pokey LaFarge, who spent his early career busking in Asheville, and Moses Sumney, a musician who’s sonic palette is so broad, it’s all but unclassifiable.

In this premiere episode of Carolina Calling, we wonder and explore what elements of this place of creative retreat have drawn individualist artists for over a century? Perhaps it’s the fact that whatever your style, Asheville is a place that allows creativity to grow and thrive.

Subscribe to Carolina Calling on any and all podcast platforms to follow along as we journey across the Old North State, visiting towns like Shelby, Greensboro, Durham, Wilmington, and more.


Music featured in this episode:

Bascom Lamar Lunsford – “Dry Bones”

Jimmie Rodgers – “My Carolina Sunshine Girl”

Kraftwerk – “Autobahn”

Donna Summer – “I Feel Love”

Pokey LaFarge – “End Of My Rope”

Moses Sumney – “Virile”

Andrew Marlin – “Erie Fiddler (Carolina Calling Theme)”

Moses Sumney – “Me In 20 Years”

Steep Canyon Rangers – “Honey on My Tongue”

Béla Bartók – “Romanian Folk Dances”

New Order – “Blue Monday”

Quindar – “Twin-Pole Sunshade for Rusty Schweickart”

Pokey LaFarge – “Fine To Me”

Bobby Hicks Feat. Del McCoury – “We’re Steppin’ Out”

Squirrel Nut Zippers – “Put A Lid On It”

Jimmie Rodgers – “Daddy and Home”

Lesley Riddle – “John Henry”

Steep Canyon Rangers – “Graveyard Fields”


BGS is proud to produce Carolina Calling in partnership with Come Hear NC, a campaign from the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources designed to celebrate North Carolinians’ contribution to the canon of American music.

LISTEN: The Gina Furtado Project, “It Won’t Be Me”

Artist: The Gina Furtado Project
Hometown: Winchester, Virginia
Song: “It Won’t Be Me”
Release Date: January 21, 2022
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “It took me until I was well into my 20s to understand the true meaning of the word ‘NO’ and that I could actually use it. Well into my 30s, I’m still in awe of how that word empowers me in my own life. ‘It Won’t Be Me’ is a flex of that power; that muscle that enables us to simply, and calmly, refuse to accept any breach of our boundaries. Women, in particular, seem to tend to accept blame and assume we are the problem (or is it just me?). I see this as our own subconscious sexism at work. I wanted to illustrate in this song how overcoming that tendency to undermine ourselves is when we really begin to approach our true potential, and we shift from being ‘that little girl who didn’t understand’ to the ‘woman [who] said he’ll never break your spirit.’ This one’s for the gals out there who are feeling stuck in a bad situation!” — Gina Furtado

Crossroads Label Group · It Won’t Be Me – The Gina Furtado Project

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

LISTEN: Darren Nicholson, “Southern Ground”

Artist: Darren Nicholson
Hometown: Haywood County, North Carolina
Song: “Southern Ground”
Album: Man On a Mission
Release Date: November 26, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “The ‘Southern Ground’ title came from the relationship we had with Zac Brown Band and John Driskell Hopkins. I just thought it would make a neat song title. It tells a story of a guy who’s moved away from home, he’s in the city, he’s in a relationship that doesn’t work out and just like The Eagles talked about, sometimes the city girls break your heart and you’ve just got to head home and regroup. It’s probably one of my favorite melodies on my album, Man On a Mission, and musically it sticks out to me because it’s just got that great brushy rhythm that I love. It’s reminiscent of something maybe Glen Campbell would’ve done in his heyday and I love the arrangement and the chords. It’s one of the prettier, haunting melodies on the record but it still has that movement to it.” — Darren Nicholson

Crossroads Label Group · 02 Southern Ground

Photo credit: Jeff Smith

LISTEN: Carley Arrowood, “Letting Go Now”

Artist: Carley Arrowood
Hometown: From Union Mills, North Carolina, and currently living in Newton, North Carolina
Song: “Letting Go Now”
Release Date: November 5, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘Letting Go Now’ is a bittersweet love song, co-written with my lovely friend, Becky Buller! It’s a lighthearted tune about how sometimes we can just be desperate to hang on to someone we’re sure is the right one, regardless of red flags. We try to silence all the warning signs, but they wind up speaking volumes, and we realize they aren’t as devoted as we are, and it’s hurting us worse if we don’t let go. I love how Becky added a ray of hope to the poor heart in the song, though: ‘There’s a greater picture, a plan that I can’t see…’ refers to God’s awesome plans for our lives, regardless of how we think they should go. I really enjoyed writing this with Becky. I’m so thankful for her friendship and look forward to sharing more co-writing experiences with her in the future!” — Carley Arrowood

Crossroads Label Group · Letting Go Now – Carley Arrowood

Photo courtesy of Carley Arrowood