The SteelDrivers
The SteelDrivers
Rounder Records
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also available on amazon
This boisterous new disc of drivin’ bluegrass is filled with 11 original songs that are written by the band in some form or combination, and reflect the hard edge this disc takes (might cause you to wonder if there is a genre called “power grass” to encompass what they bring to the table. These five musicians have all been grounded and schooled in bluegrass, however they also have played with musicians from other genres as varied as Bob Seger, Bo Diddley, Rodney Crowell, and Johnny Cash. The key ingredient to their music is a soul that is come about through the knocks the music business, or life in general hands out. Most of the songs (8 of 11) have a songwriting team of Mike Henderson, mandolin and vocals, and Chris Stapleton, guitar and vocals to start with as a foundation and then you have Mike Fleming, bass
and vocals, Tammy Rogers, fiddle and vocals, and Richard Bailey, banjo to round them all up. The songs are sharp and though set in a style constantly break and expand the style to show it new limits. The focus of the disc is on the songs and that’s where the whole group started. It’s going to be very interesting to see where they take it from here but this is a fantastic start, and they set the bar high.