premiere round up Archives - The Bluegrass Situation

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Andy Leftwich, Carter & Cleveland, and More

Posted on March 14, 2025 by Justin Hiltner

Okay but really, You Gotta Hear This! Our weekly premiere and new music roundup is simply packed with entirely legendary bluegrass in this edition of the column.

Kicking us off, award-winning husband-and-wife duo Benson – made up of Kristin Scott Benson and Wayne Benson – offer their rendition of a Harley Allen song, “Things Have Changed,” with Dustin Pyrtle lending a perfect lead vocal to the track. The Seldom Scene, an iconic bluegrass band for now more than 50 years, release their brand new album today. We’re celebrating Remains to Be Scene by highlighting “Hard Travelin’,” a Woody Guthrie-written number that you, like Ron Stewart, may recognize from Flatt & Scruggs’s discography.

Fiddle is represented in force this week, too, with fiddler and multi-instrumentalist Andy Leftwich racing through an original, “Highland Rim,” with Cody Kilby, Matt Menefee, and Byron House along for the ride. Jason Carter & Michael Cleveland are releasing their debut duo album today as well, so we’ve cued up “In the Middle of Middle Tennessee” from that stellar project. Written by Darrell Scott, it features Carter’s tasty baritone and country star Charlie Worsham (who has strong bluegrass roots) on harmony.

To round out our collection this week, Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers preview their new bluegrass gospel album, Thankful and Blessed, set for release next week on March 21. “He Sees the Little Sparrow Fall” is a superlative example of the gospel and sacred traditions in bluegrass, a little concentrated dose of Friday revival for the end of your work week.

Every single track herein is bluegrass of the highest quality, so you know what we’re going to say… You Gotta Hear This!

Benson, “Things Have Changed”

Artist: Benson
Hometown: Boiling Springs, South Carolina
Song: “Things Have Changed”
Release Date: March 14, 2025
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “We’re excited for this song to finally come out. We love the lead vocal by Dustin Pyrtle and the sentiment of ‘Things Have Changed’ is universal. It seems things do change so fast these days. Downtown Nashville is different every time I go! But even in small towns, you feel it, both physically and relationally with the people who live there. I love the line, ‘I’m sort of glad that Mom and Dad ain’t around.’ That melancholy embodies the mood of this guy who goes back home and feels an overall sense of loss. Wayne and I love to play this slower tempo on mandolin and banjo. He gets to tremolo and I get to play fun chord-based banjo. I always enjoy playing this kind of banjo backup.” – Kristin Scott Benson

“I’ve always loved Harley Allen and certainly do love this song. Dustin Pyrtle seemed like the perfect singer to reach out to and man did he ever deliver the goods on this one!” – Wayne Benson

Track Credits:
Wayne Benson – Mandolin
Kristin Scott Benson – Banjo
Cody Kilby – Acoustic
Tony Creasman – Drums
Kevin McKinnon – Bass
Dustin Pyrtle – Vocal

Carter & Cleveland, “In the Middle of Middle Tennessee”

Artist: Jason Carter & Michael Cleveland
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee (Jason); Charlestown, Indiana (Michael)
Song: “In the Middle of Middle Tennessee”
Album: Carter & Cleveland
Release Date: March 14, 2025
Label: Fiddle Man Records

In Their Words: “This is a fun song that transports me to a place in my mind where I’d love to be – stuck in the middle of Middle Tennessee. Special thanks to Charlie Worsham for singing with me on this track. It’s one of the highlights of the entire record for me! I never had the chance to meet Darrell Scott’s cat, Bobtail, but somehow, I feel like I’ve seen him before. Thank you, Darrell, for writing this song about him!” – Jason Carter

Track Credits:
Jason Carter – Lead vocal, fiddle
Michael Cleveland – Fiddle
Charlie Worsham – Harmony vocal
Sam Bush – Mandolin
Jerry Douglas – Dobro
Bryan Sutton – Guitar
Cory Walker – Banjo
Alan Bartram – Bass

Andy Leftwich, “Highland Rim”

Artist: Andy Leftwich
Hometown: Carthage, Tennessee
Song: “Highland Rim”
Release Date: March 14, 2025
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I’ve always loved the intensity of a fast-paced instrumental and we hold nothing back on this one. Named after a raceway close to home where I grew up, I thought this one perfectly described the rush that you get from going fast. I wanted a song on this new project where we can go absolutely bananas and I feel like we captured it on this one!” – Andy Leftwich

Track Credits:
Andy Leftwich – Fiddle, mandolin
Byron House – Upright bass
Cody Kilby – Acoustic guitar
Matt Menefee – Banjo

Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers, “He Sees the Little Sparrow Fall”

Artist: Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
Hometown: Xenia, Ohio
Song: “He Sees The Little Sparrow Fall”
Album: Thankful and Blessed
Release Date: March 21, 2025
Label: Billy Blue Records

In Their Words: “It’s so easy to sing a song of gratitude and celebration when we consider the beauty of creation. Our friend, songwriter Conrad Fisher, lives in a gorgeous valley surrounded by the mountains of Pennsylvania. No matter where we look around the world, seeing God’s magnificent beauty in creation is easy and worthy of our praise. A new song with an old-time flavor and a universal message opens our new album, ‘He Sees the Little Sparrows Fall.’” – Joe Mullins

Track Credits:
Joe Mullins – Vocal, banjo
Adam McIntosh – Lead vocal, guitar
Chris Davis – Vocal, mandolin
Jason Barie – Fiddle
Zach Collier – Bass

The Seldom Scene, “Hard Travelin'”

Artist: The Seldom Scene
Hometown: Bethesda, Maryland
Song: “Hard Travelin'”
Album: Remains to be Scene
Release Date: March 14, 2025
Label: Smithsonian Folkways

In Their Words: “This song comes from a Flatt & Scruggs album of the same title, circa 1963. Written by Woody Guthrie, the song was first recorded in 1947. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Flatt & Scruggs and this is one of my favorites from the early 1960s when they were still plowing bluegrass, but using material from a broad range of writers.” – Ron Stewart

Photo Credit: Andy Leftwich by Erick Anderson; Carter & Cleveland by Emma McCoury.

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Aisha Badru, Benson, and More

Posted on March 22, 2024 by Justin Hiltner

Aren’t Fridays the best day of the week? And no, not just because of the five-day work week, but really because it’s New Music Friday, of course!

This week, we’re featuring premieres like a thoughtful and introspective number from singer-songwriter Aisha Badru, a Bonnie Raitt cover from husband-and-wife bluegrass duo Benson with Keith Garrett lending lead vocals, a thoughtful track about cyclical national, cultural, and romantic traumas from Jessye DeSilva, and Lynne Hanson brings a new song about how some folks are just plain rotten.

There’s a little bit of everything for every kind of roots music fan, and if we do say so ourselves, You Gotta Hear This!

Aisha Badru, “Life to Live”

Artist: Aisha Badru
Hometown: Yonkers, New York
Song: “Life to Live”
Label: Nettwerk Music Group

In Their Words: “‘Life To Live’ is a song deeply rooted in my personal journey. It explores the importance of introspection and understanding what truly brings us joy and fulfillment. For me, that meant leaving the traditional path of college to pursue music, even if it wasn’t initially supported by my family. This song isn’t just about following our dreams, it’s about the growth and self-discovery that happens along the way.” – Aisha Badru

Benson, “Louise”

Artist: Benson
Hometown: Boiling Springs, South Carolina
Song: “Louise”
Release Date: March 22, 2024
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words:“We’ve always been big fans of Keith Garrett. He’s got such a warm vocal tone and always chooses a great way of delivering the song. We were excited to have him sing a couple and felt really lucky that he said yes.” – Kristin Scott Benson

“Back in the early 1990s, I heard Bonnie Raitt’s album, Luck of the Draw. After becoming a fan and going back to her earlier projects, I came across a live video with her version of ‘Louise.’ I always thought it would make a fun bluegrass song because of the chord progression and I think Keith and Dustin sang it great.” – Wayne Benson

Track Credits:
Wayne Benson – Mandolin
Kristin Scott Benson – Banjo
Cody Kilby – Acoustic guitar
Tony Creasman – Drums
Kevin McKinnon – Bass
Keith Garrett – Lead vocal
Dustin Pyrtle – Harmony vocals

Jessye DeSilva, “Gallows Tree”

Artist name: Jessye DeSilva
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “Gallows Tree”
Release Date: March 22, 2024

In Their Words: “‘Gallows Tree’ is all about the ghosts of our traumas and our misdeeds and what happens when we leave things unsaid. In the U.S. particularly, I think there is a sickening and cyclical nature to the things we repress and rebrand in denial. White couples rent plantations as backdrops for their quaint country weddings where Black bodies were broken not so long ago. We refuse to learn from the mistakes of our parents and remain complicit in the face of brutal inhumanity. In ‘Gallows Tree,’ a pastoral scene of a romantic picnic is painted, where two lovers sip iced tea on a blanket beneath the shade of a tree, while something simmers unspoken just beneath the surface. This could easily be a song about love left to dry with the years, but the lovers are all of us who remain reticent with hearts tight as fists. And now a tire swings gently from the gallows tree.” – Jessye DeSilva

Track Credits:
Music and lyrics by Jessye DeSilva and Alex Calabrese.
Jessye DeSilva – Vocals, piano
Alex Calabrese – Acoustic guitar, background vocals
Joe Dunn – Producer, bass, electric guitar, banjo, percussion programming

Lynne Hanson, “Outlaw Lover”

Artist: Lynne Hanson
Hometown: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Song: “Outlaw Lover”
Album: Just A Poet
Release Date: March 22, 2024 (single); May 24, 2024 (album)
Label: Panda Cave Records

In Their Words: “Some people are just rotten to the core. For this song, I really wanted to paint a picture of the ultimate heartbreak artist, someone callous and uncaring who leaves a trail of victims in their wake. The kind of person your mother warned you to stay away from.

“It was a lot of fun to arrange this song in the studio. We chose an almost hypnotic groove to really give it a sexy, black-leather swagger, and the song hits its bad attitude crescendo with the nasty fuzz of Blair Michael Hogan’s guitar solo. I actually wrote this song by starting with the lyrics first, which is the opposite of my normal songwriting process. It was a real challenge to come up with the music, and I had three versions of the song before I finally settled on this one.” – Lynne Hanson

Track Credits:
Written by Lynne Hanson.

Lynne Hanson – lead vocal
Jim Bryson – acoustic guitar, electric guitars, piano, organ, mellotron
Blair Michael Hogan – electric guitar, slide guitar
Philippe Charbonneau – bass
Marshall Bureau – drums

Jim Bryson – recording engineer
Recorded at Fixed Hinge Studios, Stittsville, Ontario.
Produced by Jim Bryson.
Mastered by Phil Shaw Bova, Bova Lab Studio, Ottawa, Ontario.
Mixed by Jim Bryson, Fixed Hinge Studios.

Photo Credit: Aisha Badru by Jeffery Trapani; Benson by Sandlin Gaither.

You Gotta Hear This: New Music from Caleb Caudle, Zoe Boekbinder, and More

Posted on February 2, 2024 by Justin Hiltner

This week, BGS readers enjoyed two brand new, original sessions – one from Jesper Lindell at Rootsy Summer Fest ’23 and the other featuring bluegrass singer-songwriter Theo MacMillan for our latest Yamaha Session.

Now, to wrap up the week, we’re celebrating new releases from a host of roots musicians like Caleb Caudle, Zoe Boekbinder, Eddie Sanders, Denmark-based string band Twang, and fiddler Andy Leftwich.

Of all the new music released this week, you gotta hear this!

Caleb Caudle, “Monte Carlo”

Artist: Caleb Caudle
Hometown: Germanton, North Carolina
Song: “Monte Carlo”
Album: Live From Cash Cabin
Release Date: January 31, 2024 (single); February 29, 2024 (EP)

In Their Words: “We recorded these songs live at Cash Cabin in the spring of 2022 and had such a great time. It was one of my last memories of playing music with my friend, Alex McKinney, who recently passed away after a battle with cancer. His untimely death hit me like a ton of bricks and I wanted to release this now to showcase what an amazing musician he was. I’m so thankful for these recordings that keep his spirit alive.” – Caleb Caudle

Video Credit: Joseph Cash

Zoe Boekbinder, “Hold My Hand”

Artist: Zoe Boekbinder
Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana
Song: “Hold My Hand”
Album: Wildflower
Release Date: February 2, 2024 (single); April 26, 2024 (album)
Label: Are and Be Recordings

In Their Words: “‘Hold My Hand’ was written on a farm of rescue horses in the mountains in northern Spain. I was there doing a music residency in the summer of 2017. Myself and another songwriter, Dustin Hamman, co-wrote a collection of songs and recorded them all in one week. We also each wrote one song independent of each other. ‘Hold My Hand’ was mine. We slept in the attic of the horse barn, directly above the horse stalls. One of the horses had digestive issues that caused it to fart very loudly and constantly. It was an interesting soundtrack for sleeping. Somehow in that silliness, I wrote this very painful song about my confused heart.” – Zoe Boekbinder

Twang, “Crowdpleaser”

Artist: Twang
Hometown: Copenhagen, Denmark
Song: “Crowdpleaser”
Release Date: February 2, 2024

In Their Words: “The song talks about a musician’s encounter with the audience and the fear that things could go terribly wrong. Despite this fear, the message is to be honest and give everything you have, in order to receive the same honesty and love in return. The chorus goes: ‘Love is honesty, honesty, respect / What you give is what you get.'” – Twang

Video Credit: Hidayet C

Eddie Sanders, “Chasing That Midnight Moon”

Artist: Eddie Sanders
Hometown: McAlester, Oklahoma
Song: “Chasing That Midnight Moon”
Album: Born to Fly
Label: True Lonesome Records

In Their Words: “I really love this new single, ‘Chasing That Midnight Moon,’ a song I co-wrote with my producer and good friend, Glen Duncan. Glen, along with an all-star cast of pickers, found a dynamic studio groove on this one right away. Then, when the great John Cowan added his signature harmony, it immediately became one of my favorites on the forthcoming album and locked it in as the debut single. I can’t wait for everyone to check it out on the new True Lonesome Records label!” – Eddie Sanders

“What a pleasure and pleasant surprise to get to participate on Eddie’s ‘Chasing That Midnight Moon.’ Eddie possesses one of the finest voices and songwriting gifts in contemporary bluegrass music.” – John Cowan

Andy Leftwich, “Behind the 8 Ball”

Artist: Andy Leftwich
Hometown: Carthage, Tennessee
Song: “Behind the 8 Ball”
Release Date: February 2, 2024
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “The idea of this song was to have an upbeat ‘barn burner’ that could lend itself to some really creative soloing, and I feel like we captured that here. I have to give the credit of the title to my wife, Rachel, who heard me mention this phrase while in the studio recording it. We were moving along, but not at the pace I was hoping, so we were behind on time. At the end of the day, she mentioned naming this song, ‘Behind the 8 Ball.’ I thought it was perfect! It certainly has that anxious spirit we all have from time to time when we get in tough spots, but it’s a fun tune that has great energy and a different sound than you normally hear in bluegrass ‘barn burner’ instrumentals.” – Andy Leftwich

Jesper Lindell, “It Ain’t Easy”

Last summer, on the banks of the Ätran beside Tryckhallen – Rootsy Summer & Winter Fests’ home venue – in Falkenberg, Sweden, Jesper Lindell offered two songs in simple, stripped down, acoustic performances for his Rootsy Summer Session. On a balcony overlooking the rushing water and festival stage, he sings “It Ain’t Easy,” a song of long-suffering and devotion from his 2023 EP, Windows Vol. 1.

Theo MacMillan, “The One That’s Broken”

For our second original session this week, Theo MacMillan (of Theo & Brenna) and his band performed for an exclusive Yamaha Session at Solar Cabin last fall. MacMillan, who brought along Jed Clark (bass), Harry Clark (mandolin), and Cory Walker (banjo), pulled his Yamaha acoustic guitar out of the case and performed two original numbers. The first, “The One That’s Broken,” leans forward at a breakneck pace, channeling the frustration of a messy relationship’s end with cattywampus stops artfully executed by the band, tight and together.

Watch more here.

Photo Credit: Caleb Caudle by Joseph Cash; Zoe Boekbinder by Justin Nunnink.

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Sister Sadie, John Leventhal, and More

Posted on January 26, 2024January 26, 2024 by Justin Hiltner

This week, BGS readers enjoyed a track premiere from California-based string band Moonsville Collective, as well as our very first Rootsy Summer Session featuring an exclusive performance by Israel Nash on the streets of Falkenberg, Sweden. Also, in this week’s edition of Out Now, we highlighted a brand new single from Mary Bragg, too.

Featured in today’s premiere round-up, You Gotta Hear This, is new music from bluegrass supergroup Sister Sadie with their illustrious friend, Ashley McBryde, plus producer, guitarist, musician extraordinaire John Leventhal, Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road, the Grackles featuring Kat Edmonson, and North Carolina bluegrass/Americana outfit Unspoken Tradition.

We hope you enjoy a week’s worth of new music and videos; ’cause You Gotta Hear This!

Sister Sadie, “Ode to the Ozarks” (featuring Ashley McBryde)

Artist: Sister Sadie
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Ode To The Ozarks” (featuring Ashley McBryde)
Album: No Fear
Release Date: January 26, 2024
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “This song was originally sent to me by a great songwriter from Nashville that we’re all big fans of, Marcus Hummon. When I heard the demo, I could hear us doing it immediately in my head and sent it around to the band. I thought it would be a great fit for us and had some awesome vocal harmony possibilities. The song was co-written by Ashley McBryde and Kat Higgins, who we’re also big fans of. In the meantime, Dani Flowers had joined Sister Sadie and is very close friends with Ashley. So of course she was an advocate for doing the song as well, and asked Ashley if she would consider singing on it with us in the studio. She graciously agreed and we were so honored to have her join us! We’re grateful to Marcus, Ashley, and Kat for entrusting us to give it the right treatment. It has a very ‘swampy’ feel and is such a FUN song to perform live. We got to perform this song on the Grand Ole Opry with Ashley and that was such a special memory for us all! Hope you love it as much as we do.” – Gena Britt, banjo

“I am so happy with the way ‘Ode To The Ozarks’ turned out. It ended up so funky and dirty with the stellar musicianship of Seth Taylor, Tristan Scroggins, and Tony Creasman added to the Sadie girls. We are so honored that Ashley McBryde agreed to sing on this one with us. The icing on the cake!” – Deanie Richardson, fiddle

John Leventhal, “That’s All I Know About Arkansas” (featuring Rosanne Cash)

Artist: John Leventhal
Hometown: New York, New York
Song: “That’s All I Know About Arkansas” (featuring Rosanne Cash)
Album: Rumble Strip
Release Date: January 26, 2024
Label: RumbleStrip Records

In Their Words: “Rosanne had these lyrics. I wasn’t sure what they were actually about, but I loved them and they seemed to fit with a weird West African-bluegrass riff I had. There are two distinct guitar solos, each a tip of the hat to two musicians to whom I owe a debt: Ry Cooder and Clarence White.” – John Leventhal

Grackles, “Top Of The World” (featuring Kat Edmonson)

Artist: Grackles
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “Top Of The World” featuring Kat Edmonson
Album: Grackles
Release Date: February 24, 2024 (album)

In Their Words: “‘Top Of The World’ was a beautiful chord structure Jason [Mozersky] had, that we all sat and strummed together on acoustic guitars live in the studio with upright bass and brushes on the drums. It instantly felt so warm and welcoming. I knew I wanted to sing it way lower than normal, so got Kat Edmonson to sing the melody with me. Sort of a Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra vibe. Lyrically, it’s pretty straight forward. It’s such a short, honest piece, I really tried hard not to let the words get in the way. I’m happily married and with a beautiful daughter and find my own life to be pretty damn great. Meanwhile the world around me crumbles. We bounce from one shit storm to the next, and try desperately to keep it together.” – Noah Lit

Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road, “Homesick For Virginia”

Artist: Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road
Hometown: Deep Gap, North Carolina
Song: “Homesick For Virginia”
Album: Yellow Line
Release Date: January 26, 2024
Label: Pinecastle Records

In Their Words:“This song (penned by Colton Kerchner) is a story of misadventure and longing for home. Though the song is straightforward and wrapped in a 3/4 bluegrass power waltz, I felt like a lot of folks could relate to the message behind it. Being young, 20-something musicians out there on the road, home is always on our minds along with our friends and family, who we frequently miss. This is one of the more traditional tunes on the album, and I thought the guys really knocked it out of the park with the feel of that old Stanley-inspired sound.” – Liam Purcell

Unspoken Tradition, “Weary Town”

Artist: Unspoken Tradition
Hometown: Cherryville, North Carolina
Song: “Weary Town”
Release Date: January 26, 2024
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “Our hometown was a great place to grow up. It thrived for decades because of a trucking company founded by some of its citizens. Many locals found work there; it was almost analogous to a mining town. That trucking company was bought by a larger corporation that ultimately closed the terminal, and the town became a shell of its former self in a matter of a few years. It hurts in a way only bittersweet nostalgia can, to know that the town where I made so many memories exists in name only. When John Cloyd Miller sent us this one, it just ripped at my heart, because it makes the struggle and loss of a fading town so real. ‘What’s it gonna take for us to hold on?’ Iris Dement couldn’t have written a better love letter to a fading town!” – Audie McGinnis

Israel Nash, “Lost In America” (Rootsy Summer Sessions)

Last summer, in picturesque Falkenberg, Sweden, Rootsy Music held Summer Fest ’23, a gathering of twenty-some Americana, country, folk, and roots bands – many imported all the way from the United States. BGS video collaborators and contributors I Know We Should were there; they curated, directed, and shot a series of gorgeous live performances in and around the festival and scenic Falkenberg.

The first in the series features Israel Nash – a Rootsy artist, as well as a frequenter of Rootsy stages and festivals – performing an original song, “Lost in America.”