LISTEN: Bluegrass at the Crossroads, “Cricket” (Feat. Gina Furtado)

Artist: Bluegrass at the Crossroads
Song: “Cricket” (written by Jon Weisberger and Justin Hiltner)
Album: Bluegrass at the Crossroads
Release Date: September 23, 2022
Label: Mountain Home Music Company and Organic Records

In Their Words: “Justin Hiltner brought this song’s idea and first verse — inspired by watching his cat, Porkchop, playing with a wounded cricket — to a co-writing session in the fall of 2020. I was reminded instantly of the old fiddle tune, ‘Cricket On the Hearth,’ and that put us in an old-time mood that dictated the lyric’s ‘countdown’ format and the music’s structure, with its instrumental-only second part. A few months later, when I started looking at material for the third of our Bluegrass at the Crossroads collaborations, I remembered the song and thought its lyrical whimsy and musical flavor would fit Gina Furtado well. Thanks to her fine singing and some great playing by the entire group — Gina, Chris Davis of the Grascals, the Travelin’ McCourys’ Cody Kilby, Sav Sankaran from Unspoken Tradition and the always amazing Andy Leftwich — it turned out to be one of my favorite tracks from the whole project.” — Jon Weisberger, producer

“When Jon Weisberger told me that he and his co-writer, Justin Hiltner, thought I’d be a good fit for singing ‘Cricket,’ I was very flattered. There is a gleeful obstinance in the mood and lyrics that really cracks me up, and I can absolutely relate to that sentiment. It was super fun recording this one, especially with such a great band lineup!” — Gina Furtado

Crossroads Label Group · 10 Cricket

Players: Chris Davis – mandolin; Gina Furtado – banjo, lead vocal; Cody Kilby – guitar; Andy Leftwich – fiddle; Sav Sankaran – bass
Photo Credit: Sandlin Gaither

LISTEN: The Alex Leach Band, “Together (We’re Going All the Way)”

Artist: The Alex Leach Band
Hometown: Jacksboro, Tennessee
Song: “Together (We’re Going All the Way)”
Album: All the Way
Release Date: August 19, 2022
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “A few months ago I was in my office working on writing some new material, and after playing around with many ideas, a certain melody just kept coming back to me. It was catchy so I decided to write some lyrics with it. It was actually one of the easiest songs I’ve ever written! The words started flowing freely as I pictured being on the road doing what I love with the band, mixed in with some deep thoughts about my personal life, and thinking about how amazing this world would be if we all viewed one another as a brother or sister, even if we all don’t see eye to eye on things. Life is a journey so let’s stand beside one another and enjoy the ride together!” — Alex Leach

Crossroads Label Group · 01 Together (We’re Going All The Way)

Photo Credit: Sandlin Gaither

LISTEN: Fireside Collective, “When You Fall”

Artist: Fireside Collective
Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina
Song: “When You Fall”
Album: Across the Divide
Release Date: August 5, 2022
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘When You Fall’ is a song about unconditional love. I wrote this song for my daughter, right before her first birthday. Literally catching her as she’s learning to walk and knowing that as she grows older, no matter what roads she chooses to walk along, I will support her and be there for life’s inevitable ups and downs. From a sonic standpoint, I wanted the song to be a gentle yet dynamic musical journey. It moves along like a classic bluegrass song, but has undertones reminiscent of Nickel Creek and Crooked Still. This song serves as a message of comfort to all those who strive to grow each day and when faced with a difficult challenge, push on knowing somebody loves them no matter what.” — Jesse Iaquinto, Fireside Collective

Crossroads Label Group · 01 When You Fall

Photo Credit: Jace Kartye

Tray Wellington Shares a List of Banjo Players Thinking Outside the Box

North Carolina musician Tray Wellington is fresh off a nomination for this year’s IBMA New Artist of the Year, following the release of his full-length debut album Black Banjo. Still in his early 20s, Wellington pulls from a myriad of influences — on his latest album he cites jazz as the major influence of his progressive bluegrass style. Many other banjo players of this younger generation are using the influence of genre and blurred genre lines, adapting and subverting narrative and traditions, and utilizing sheer unrestrained creativity to operate outside the traditional confines of the instrument.

In honor of BGS Banjo Month, Wellington gathered a collection of current artists who are thinking outside the box, creating their own voice on the banjo in new and innovative ways, and striving to make the banjo a better-known and appreciated sound.


Photo Credit: Dan Boner

We’re giving away a Recording King Songster Banjo in honor of Banjo Month! Enter to win your very own RK-R20 here.

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