Raw, soulful, and with plenty of swagger, Town Mountain, based in Asheville, NC, released their 5th studio album Southern Crescent on April 1, 2016 on LoHi Records. Produced and engineered by GRAMMY winner Dirk Powell, the album was recorded in Powell’s studio The Cypress House in Breaux Bridge, LA.
To Celebrate, They Are Offering Fans a FREE Download of “Wildbird”
“The record features an expected dose of fast string picking, including the opening fiddle workout ‘St. Augustine,’ but as it unfolds it becomes a well-rounded effort full of front-porch song craft that touches on various shades of roots music…” writes Blue Ridge Outdoors. “The standout, though, is ‘Wildbird,’ [penned by Barker] a classic highway song about curing a restless mind with road miles; perfect for a bluegrass band that sounds pretty comfortable getting outside of its comfort zone.”
“Southern Crescent is a near-perfect balance of tradition and young, raw energy… “ writes Bluegrass Today. “They’ll hear a hundred years of southern musical culture bubbling up and finding a common point where North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana meet as old friends. Town Mountain’s style and sonic footprint comes from a foundation of rhythm and groove that comes not from just loving the music (that’s too easy) but from living the music.”
Town Mountain is Robert Greer on vocals and guitar, Jesse Langlais on banjo and vocals, Bobby Britt on fiddle, Phil Barker on mandolin and vocals, and Nick DiSebastian on bass (Adam Chaffins plays bass in the touring outfit.)
Town Mountain’s ‘Southern Crescent’ OUT TODAY on LoHi Records Available April 1, 2016 on iTunes →http://apple.co/1QW52ZJ Limited edition signed CD bundles directly from the web store → www.townmountain.net/shop
ASHEVILLE, NC — Raw, soulful, and with plenty of swagger, Town Mountain, based in Asheville, NC, releases their 5th studio album Southern Crescent on April 1, 2016 through LoHi Records. Produced and engineered by GRAMMY winner Dirk Powell, the album was recorded in Powell’s studio The Cypress House in Breaux Bridge, LA. It was mixed by Mixed by Scott Vestal at Digital Underground in Greenbrier, TN.
Town Mountain. Photo by Sandlin Gaither.
With an insatiable musical hunger, the members of Town Mountain (Robert Greer on vocals and guitar, Jesse Langlais on banjo and vocals, Bobby Britt on fiddle, Phil Barker on mandolin and vocals, and Nick DiSebastian on bass) made their way to the little south-central Louisiana town of Breaux Bridge, where they recorded their most cohesive, most satisfying album to date. Adam Chaffins* plays bass in the touring outfit.
Southern Crescent was recorded in a decidedly old-school way, live, with minimal fixes and overdubs, with all the musicians in the same room and no noise-reducing baffling between them. Each of Town Mountain’s members contributed songs to Southern Crescent, with Barker, Langlais and Greer the chief writers in the band.
From the boogie-woogie piano of Jerry Lee Lewis that inspired the delightful (and danceable) “Coming Back to You,” to Greer’s cleverly penned and fast-paced “Tick on a Dog,” which offers a taste of another major bluegrass influence, Jimmy Martin, Southern Crescent is tailor-made to keep live audiences on their feet, but it’ll also keep those who think they can easily peg Town Mountain on their toes.
That variety is indeed part of what drives Southern Crescent, which opens with Britt’s delightfully dizzying fiddle work on “St. Augustine,” and showcases Greer’s hard-country vocals on “House With No Windows” and on the freewheeling composition “Ain’t Gonna Worry Me,” (penned by Barker). The group members’ palpable chemistry (and individual artistry) are displayed throughout such instantly memorable tracks as “Wildbird,” (Barker) and “I Miss the Night,” which Langlais penned (with Mark Bumgarner) after experiencing 22 hours of daylight during Alaska’s summer solstice.
The new album is being released on LoHi Records. Based in Greensboro, N.C., the label is a partnership formed by entrepreneur and marketing veteran Jim Brooks with singer/songwriter and record producer Todd Snider, record producer Tim Carbone (who also plays fiddle in newgrass band Railroad Earth) and Chad Staehly from Gold Mountain Entertainment in Nashville.
What Folks Are Saying about Town Mountain and Southern Crescent:
“Produced by Dirk Powell, Southern Crescent is hard-charging, grits-and-gravy authentic, the kind of emotions on the strings of Bill Monroe and Flatts and Scruggs pioneered more than 60 years ago. But Town Mountain is no copy band. With Songs written by each band member, and instrumental and vocal originality, Town Mountain honors the Ancients while bringing a collective and generational identity to their art.” —Raleigh News & Observer, Jack Bernhardt
“Southern Crescent reflects the band’s loose, dance-able music, more reflective of their festival and club sets that a staid performing arts center straight-bluegrass set. I’m not sure if the Southern Crescent still runs from Atlanta to Boston like my relatives talked about taking to go ‘visit culture’ in the Northeast, but I’m fairly sure it still runs down to New Orleans, where a more exhilarating culture has endured — an apt analogy for this album.” –Listen to this podcast interview with Town Mountain about Southern Crescent on Country Fried Rock with Sloane Spencer → http://countryfriedrock.org/town-mountain-1606/#.Vv09AnBKhaU
“On Southern Crescent, there’s little fuss and pretension, as each track has a lived-in and live feel, with the band members coalescing around the song in an almost preordained way. There is as much outlaw country and Western swing to these songs as bluegrass, despite the instrumentation. As traditional and even-keeled as Town Mountain is, no other band sounds quite the same.” —Mountain Xpress, Kyle Petersen
“I have seen this band many times, and while there are a couple of bigger names out there, this Asheville group is the most exciting bluegrass band to come along in a long time” –-No Depression, Amos Perrine
“Southern Crescent is a near-perfect balance of tradition and young, raw energy… They’ll hear a hundred years of southern musical culture bubbling up and finding a common point where North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana meet as old friends. Town Mountain’s style and sonic footprint comes from a foundation of rhythm and groove that comes not from just loving the music (that’s too easy) but from living the music.” —Stream to the Premier of the song “Wildbird” atBluegrass Today, Brian Swenk
“The record features an expected dose of fast string picking, including the opening fiddle workout ‘St. Augustine,’ but as it unfolds it becomes a well-rounded effort full of front-porch song craft that touches on various shades of roots music. ‘Leroy’s Reel’ has a distinctly Cajun flavor, while ‘Comin’ Back to You’ is a rockabilly dance tune propelled by some boogie-woogie piano.” —Blue Ridge Outdoors, Jedd Ferris
“By the time they arrive at ‘Whiskey With Tears,’ one is ready to recommend them to country radio not because they sound like they belong there, but because you wish radio sounded like Town Mountain.”–Fervor Coulee, Donald Teplyske
“From the fiddle filled, energetic instrumental opener, ‘St. Augustine’ to the carefree ‘Ain’t Gonna Worry Me’ bluegrass sensibilities merge with roots, rock and country in melodies that will not only make you sit up and listen – they’ll have you getting up and moving as well.” —The Daily Country, Tara Joan
“There are a lot of bluegrass and country bands out there but only a few really have the ability to pull off what Ricky Skaggs and Tony Rice pulled off… Town Mountain, a band out of Asheville NC, does though and they prove it song after song. A bit more country here and a bit more bluegrass there makes the music as roots as you can get.” –-Frank Gutch Jr., Bob Segarini Blog
Town Mountain’s Southern Crescent Tour 2016:
4/1 Fri – The Grey Eagle – Asheville, NC
4/2 Sat – Newgrass Brewing Company – Shelby, NC
4/5 Tue – Hampton Taphouse – Hampton, VA
4/6 Wed – Gypsy Sally’s – Washington, DC
4/7 Thu – Lizard Lounge – Cambridge, MA
4/8 Fri – Hill Country BBQ – New York, NY
4/9 Sat – The Hobo Stage – Fredon, NJ
4/10 Sun – Tin Angel – Philadelphia, PA
4/12 Tue – Haymarket Whiskey Bar – Louisville, KY
4/13 Wed – Cosmic Charlie’s – Lexington, KY
4/14 Thu – The Station Inn – Nashville, TN
4/15 Fri – Barley’s – Knoxville, TN
4/16 Sat – Waverly “Old 280” Boogie – Waverly, AL
4/17 Sun – Zydeco – Birmingham, AL
4/28 Thu – Independent Ale House – Greenville, SC
4/30 Sat – UNC – Chapel Hill, NC
5/13 Fri – KSUT Concert Series @ Henry Strater Theatre – Durango, CO
5/14 Sat – Denver Beer Co.’s Sundrenched Music Festival – Denver, CO
5/14 Sat – Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox – Denver, CO (After party with Hot Buttered Run)
5/21 Sat – The Pour House – Charleston, SC (with Peter Rowan)
5/22 Sun – Lincoln Theatre – Raleigh, NC (supporting Hard Working Americans)
5/24 Tue – The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC (supporting Hard Working Americans)
5/25 Wed – Minglewood Hall – Memphis, TN (supporting Hard Working Americans)
5/27 Fri – White Squirrel Festival – Brevard, NC
5/28 Sat – Rooster Walk – Martinsville, VA
6/1 Wed – Music City Roots – Nashville, TN
6/3 Fri – Bailey Park – Winston-Salem, NC
6/5 Sun – Nelsonville Music Festival
6/11 Sat – Festival of the Bluegrass – Lexington, KY
6/16 Thu – Back Porch Music Series – Durham, NC
6/23 Thu – Rudyfest 16 – Grayson, KY
6/24 Fri – ROMP Fest – Owensboro, KY
7/23 Sat – Homegrown Music Festival – Ozark, AR
8/5 Sat – Pickathon – Happy Valley, OR
Raw, soulful, and with plenty of swagger, Town Mountain releases 5th album, Southern Crescent, April 1, 2016 on LoHi Records
Produced by Dirk Powell at his Cypress House studio
in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana
ASHEVILLE — In much the same way that iconic southern dishes such as Louisiana gumbo or Brunswick stew can include any number of flavorful ingredients, so too does bluegrass music rely on a recipe that can vary wildly, depending on who’s doing the cooking. For Asheville, North Carolina-based bluegrass band Town Mountain, the key ingredient of the musical stew that is their career-defining fifth album, Southern Crescent, is the same confident – yet entirely embraceable – swagger that has distinguished the group since they first formed in 2005. The new album is due out on April 1, 2016 on LoHi Records.
With an insatiable musical hunger, the members of Town Mountain (Robert Greer on vocals and guitar, Jesse Langlais on banjo and vocals, Bobby Britt on fiddle, Phil Barker on mandolin and vocals, and Nick DiSebastian* on bass) made their way to the little south-central Louisiana town of Breaux Bridge, where they recorded their most cohesive, most satisfying album to date. Produced by legendary GRAMMY-winning musician (and Louisiana transplant) Dirk Powell at his Cypress House studio, with low-swooping live oak trees and the picturesque Bayou Teche nearby, Southern Crescent is nothing less than a musical tour-de-force. Adam Chaffins* plays bass in the touring outfit.
The 2013 winners of IBMA Momentum Awards for Performance Band and Vocalist of the Year (Robert Greer), Town Mountain has earned raves for their hard-driving sound, their in-house songwriting and the honky-tonk edge that permeates their exhilarating live performances, whether in a packed club or at a sold-out festival. Just as a gumbo recipe starts with the “holy trinity” of staples (onions, bell peppers and celery), and can contain a wide variety of additional ingredients and inspiration, the hearty base of Town Mountain’s music is the bluegrass triumvirate of Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. It’s what else goes into the mix that brings it all to life both on stage and on record and reflects the group’s wide-ranging influences – from the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia and the ethereal lyrics of Robert Hunter, to the honest, vintage country of Willie, Waylon and Merle.
Southern Crescent was recorded in a decidedly old-school way, live, with minimal fixes and overdubs, with all the musicians in the same room and no noise-reducing baffling between them. The result: a raw, soulful album that prompted iconic singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale to enthuse in the liner notes, “The first time I heard Town Mountain I loved, respected, and enjoyed them. And I do now more than ever. They have stuck with their deep bluegrass roots but as they have with all of their releases, they have grown and expanded. They sound like Carolina, and they carry that sound farther and farther with Southern Crescent, their latest gem.”
In spite of not having worked with Powell as their producer before, singer-songwriter Robert Greer says he walked away from the experience “thinking this is how I want to record every record from this point on.” It probably didn’t hurt that Powell’s mom, who lives next door to the studio, was keeping the group supplied with coffee and homemade chocolate chip cookies.
The new album is being released on LoHi Records. Based in Greensboro, N.C., the label is a partnership formed by entrepreneur and marketing veteran Jim Brooks with singer/songwriter and record producer Todd Snider, record producer Tim Carbone (who also plays fiddle in newgrass band Railroad Earth) and Chad Staehly from Gold Mountain Entertainment in Nashville.
Town Mountain. Photo by Sandlin Gaither
Each of Town Mountain’s members contributed songs to Southern Crescent, with Barker, Langlais and Greer the chief writers in the band. A democratic process determines what they’ll record, but the greatest factor, especially on the new record, is audience reaction, which is basically what led to release of the band’s first official live album, Town Mountain: Live At The Isis, in 2014. “We’ve gone into the studio before with new stuff but every tune on this record had been road-tested,” says Greer. “We go in to the recording situation and we have our tunes arranged already because we’ve been playing them on stage. That’s a contributing factor to successfully being able to record them live, because we’re used to doing them night after night.”
From the boogie-woogie piano of Jerry Lee Lewis that inspired the delightful (and danceable) “Coming Back to You,” to Greer’s cleverly penned and fast-paced “Tick on a Dog,” which offers a taste of another major bluegrass influence, Jimmy Martin, Southern Crescent is tailor-made to keep live audiences on their feet, but it’ll also keep those who think they can easily peg Town Mountain on their toes. “With live music, anything can happen,” Greer acknowledges. “It’s not supposed to be perfect but does it have soul!”
The music, perhaps, should also come with a road map. As Langlais explains, “A lot of the material is based around traveling. You start to peel back the lyrics of the songs and see that a lot of the material is about being out on the road and the experiences – positive or negative – that we may have living the lifestyle.”
Just as the guys find a wealth of musical inspiration in each other, there’s admittedly a little frustration that comes from being in a band with several other gifted songwriters at the same time. As Langlais explains, “You want to make sure you’re up there and everybody else is feeling the same about you. It’s good to have multiple writers in the band because it gives your audience more variety.”
That variety is indeed part of what drives Southern Crescent, which opens with Britt’s delightfully dizzying fiddle work on “St. Augustine,” and showcases Greer’s hard-country vocals on “House With No Windows” and on the freewheeling composition “Ain’t Gonna Worry Me,” (penned by Barker). The group members’ palpable chemistry (and individual artistry) are displayed throughout such instantly memorable tracks as “Wildbird,” (Barker) and “I Miss the Night,” which Langlais penned (with Mark Bumgarner) after experiencing 22 hours of daylight during Alaska’s summer solstice.
“Bands are constantly trying to define their sound, a sound that sets them apart from every other band, especially in genre as small as bluegrass,” says Langlais. “Our approach has been to find what our sound inherently will be and build off of that. Granted, we are taking a piece of what Bill Monroe’s band did in order to make our own bluegrass band. That’s just inevitable. But he borrowed from all these other genres, too – rock ‘n’ roll, country music, Scots-Irish fiddle music. I think we have realized what our sound is with this album.”
Greer, who hosts occasional nights of acoustic classic country and bluegrass in Asheville called Cornmeal Waltz (after a Guy Clark song), understands the music-food connection, saying that no matter what goes into gumbo or Brusnwick stew, they’re still “as southern as red clay.” The same is certainly true of Southern Crescent, Town Mountain’s prize-worthy signature dish.
Town Mountain on Tour 2016:
3/4-5 Fri-Sat – Hilton Head Island Seafood Festival – Hilton Head, SC
3/19 Sat – The Rabbit Hole – Charlotte, NC (with Jeff Austin Band)
4/1 Fri – The Grey Eagle – Asheville, NC
4/2 Sat – Newgrass Brewing Company – Shelby, NC
4/5 Tue – Hampton Taphouse – Hampton, VA
4/6 Wed – Gypsy Sally’s – Washington, DC
4/7 Thu – Lizard Lounge – Cambridge, MA
4/8 Fri – Hill Country BBQ – New York, NY
4/10 Sun – Tin Angel – Philadelphia, PA
4/12 Tue – Haymarket Whiskey Bar – Louisville, KY
4/13 Wed – Cosmic Charlie’s – Lexington, KY
4/14 Thu – The Station Inn – Nashville, TN
4/15 Fri – Barley’s – Knoxville, TN
4/16 Sat – Waverly “Old 280” Boogie – Waverly, AL
4/17 Sun – Zydeco – Birmingham, AL
5/28 Sat – Rooster Walk – Martinsville, VA
6/24 Fri – ROMP Fest – Owensboro, KY
7/23 Sat – Homegrown Music Festival – Ozark, AR
Town Mountain on Tour with Railroad Earth January 2016 in the Southeast ~ Bluegrass with Swagger
1/14 Thu – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA 1/15 Fri – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA 1/16 Sat – The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC 1/17 Sun – Iron City – Birmingham, AL 1/20 Wed – Druid City Music Hall – Tuscaloosa, AL
ASHEVILLE, NC — Town Mountain is excited to announce they will be hitting the road in support of Railroad Earth next month. The run of dates kicks off with a two night stand in Atlanta at the Variety Playhouse on January 14th and 15th, followed by a hometown performance at The Orange Peel in Asheville, and wrapping up in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa respectively.
Town Mountain’s hard drivin’ bluegrass sound, tight harmonies, and stellar in-house songwriting have become the band’s trademark. They light up the stage with their honky tonk edge and barroom swagger, featuring a Jimmy Martin-style bounce and confidence that is countered at times by a laid-back John Hartford-esque groove. Town Mountain includes Robert Greer on vocals and guitar, Jesse Langlais on banjo and vocals, Bobby Britt on fiddle, Phil Barker on mandolin and vocals, and Adam Chaffins on bass.
Town Mountain just wrapped up the final touches of their 5th studio album which is due out in the Spring of 2016. Produced and engineered by GRAMMY winner Dirk Powell, the album was recorded in Powell’s studio The Cypress House in south Louisiana. To warm everyone up this winter, they released a two-track disc of their favorite tunes from the Grateful Dead’s catalog called The Dead Session, that has some snazzy artwork to go along with it; it will be available at the shows!
For a sneak peek at what to expect on the future studio album, watch the band perform a new original song, “Wildbird,” in this wonderful session filmed by Hype Music Festivals at the 2015 Suwannee Springfest in Live Oak, FL →
4th Annual Holiday Town Mountain Benefit
with The Larry Keel Experience on Saturday, December 19th
at Isis Restaurant and Music Hall An annual event that helps provide much needed hunger relief for 1 in 6 of our WNC neighbors, with partial proceeds going to MANNA FoodBank
Town Mountain hosts their 4th Annual Holiday Benefit on Saturday, December 19, 2015 at Isis Music Hall and will be joined byThe Larry Keel Experience for the occasion! Tickets for the concert are on sale now and the event typically sells out, so get your tickets early. Doors at 8pm, show at 9pm, $20. 743 Haywood Road, Asheville, NC 28806. More info at www.isisasheville.com
Starting in 2012, local bluegrass ambassadors, Town Mountain, decided they wanted to initiate an annual holiday concert to help fight local hunger. Each year since, they have teamed up with another band and host Isis Restaurant and Music Hall to throw a holiday party featuring some of the best local and regional pickers rotating on stage throughout the evening. In sum total, the Holiday Benefit Concert has raised $7,500 enough money to provide food for 22,500 meals through MANNA FoodBank.
“The WNC music community has always been a strong support system for our work at MANNA FoodBank, whether it is through supporting our special events, our mission, or by raising money to end hunger in Western North Carolina. Over the past three years, this event has helped us provide the food for over 19,500 meals!” MANNA FoodBank says, “When our community works together – a business providing the space for an event, musicians providing entertainment and a reason for gathering, and the people buying tickets to support it – we can accomplish so much. Thank you to every individual who makes this possible. With your help, we can end hunger in WNC.”
Town Mountain’s banjo player and founding member Jesse Langlais decided that he wanted to make this an annual event because of the band’s ties to the area and their desire to give back to the place that has helped launch their music careers. In addition to providing the space free of charge as host of the event, Isis Music Hall has also waived many production costs and been generous enough to donate both in kind and cash contributors to the event each year in order to facilitate the event’s success.
“The need to provide a hot meal and shelter to those in need is ever present. Not only is it something we need to be aware of 365 days a year, it’s something that always stands out around the holiday season,” says Langlais. “This year, partial proceeds will be going to MANNA FoodBank, who work to help 1 in 6 people facing food insecurity in Western North Carolina.”
“We are honored to be part of this annual funding raising event that brings together musicians and community to provide for those that are less fortunate.” Isis’s owner Scott Woody says, “We deeply appreciate the efforts of FATE (Josh Stack) and MANNA for all that they do.”
Town Mountain will have some new tunes to ring in the season! They recorded an impromptu set of two of their favorite songs from the Grateful Dead’s catalog, “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” and “Big River” at the widely acclaimed Echo Mountain Recording Studios in their hometown of Asheville, NC. The disc is called The Dead Session and comes out on November 13th. This is the Grateful Dead done in Town Mountain’s hard drivin’ style filled with a honky tonk edge and barroom swagger. They will put out their next studio album, produced and engineered by GRAMMY winner Dirk Powell, in 2016. Town Mountain is Robert Greer on vocals and guitar, Jesse Langlais on banjo and vocals, Bobby Britt on fiddle, Phil Barker on mandolin and vocals, and Adam Chaffins on bass.
The Larry Keel Experience will also be playing some new tunes for the celebration from their upcoming album due out in 2016. Larry Keel, widely known as a guitar legend and master fisherman, is an innovative and original acoustic flatpicking guitarist that had broken ground in the genre. Always offering an exhilarating performance, The Larry Keel Experience features Will Lee on soulful, blues-grass 5 string banjo, penetrating vocals, along with exceptional songwriting contributions, and Jenny Keel on upright bass with her impeccable timing along with solid and imaginative bass lines and vocal harmonies.
Town Mountain: The Dead Session Artwork by Taylor Swope
Town Mountain’s rendition of Grateful Dead’s “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” will debut this Sunday, October 25th on Tales from the Golden Road on the SiriusXM Grateful Dead Channel. Robert Greer will chat with hosts David Gans and Gary Lambert at 4pm ET briefly and the show runs until 6pm. It’s is a call-in show and if you want to join the conversation, call 888-897-4748! it rebroadcast Mondays at 9am ET and Wednesdays at 1am ET. More info at www.siriusxm.com/gratefuldead and www.facebook.com/tftgr.
“Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” is one of two tracks Town Mountain recorded for their upcoming release, Town Mountain: The Dead Session, which hits the streets on November 13th. They recorded an impromptu set of two of their favorite songs from the Grateful Dead’s catalog at the widely acclaimed Echo Mountain Recording Studios in their hometown of Asheville, NC. The other track is “Big River” which was written by Johnny Cash in 1958; but true to The Dead’s fashion they would take other people’s songs or traditional songs and make them their own. They had a knack for finding covers that were transcendent of the original artist and they played it in almost 400 live performances.
“Wow, I like these hard-core acoustic honky-tonk takes on two Grateful Dead favorites!” says David Gans, musician and co-author of This Is All a Dream We Dreamed: An Oral History of the Grateful Dead, and Tales from the Golden Road co-host.
“Each member of this band has enjoyed the music of the Grateful Dead for quite some time,” says vocalist and guitarist Robert Greer. “It seemed only fitting for Town Mountain to pay respect to some musical heroes in this year, their 50th year of existence.”
This is the Grateful Dead done in Town Mountain’s hard drivin’ style filled with a honky tonk edge and barroom swagger. The resulting sound is touched by Jerry Garcia with Jimmy Martin and John Hartford… Fitting since Hartford played a short stint in Old and In The Way before Vassar Clements filled out the band on fiddle, and Garcia’s first instrument was a banjo as he was influenced by bluegrass music throughout his career.
“What can I say about “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo”? It’s just perfect. Lyrically it’s amazing,” says banjoist Jesse Langlais. “Robert Hunter can be so descriptive yet so vague in the point he’s trying to get across. Which is great for the audience because it allows listeners to choose what they want the song to be about. In my opinion that’s what a good songwriter does. He leaves the song open to interpretation.”
“Musically, ‘Mississippi’ is extremely fun to play with exciting changes and a lot going on melodically… almost like there’s two songs in one.” Langlais continues, “On the original studio version of this song Vassar Clements plays fiddle. Bobby and I tried to mimic the interplay that Jerry and Vassar had on it. This is just an amazing song, and and it made sense for us to record it because it had a bluegrass master involved. We adopted it into Town Mountain’s repertoire without changing the integrity of the song.”
“Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” was written by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter and originally released on Wake of the Flood in 1973. It was performed over 230 times live by The Dead over the years and the song was also the second set opener of the second night of the Fare Thee Well shows in Santa Clara this year.
Town Mountain. Photo by Sandlin Gaither
The core of Town Mountain is Robert Greer on vocals and guitar, Jesse Langlais on banjo and vocals, Bobby Britt on fiddle, Phil Barker on mandolin and vocals, and Adam Chaffins on bass (Adam is featured on “Mississippi”). Evan Martin plays drums on both tracks. Jon Stickley fills in on bass and guitar in “Big River” and Jack Deveroux lays down the pedal steel on “Big River.”
For the cover art, Town Mountain turned to long time Grateful Dead artistTaylor Swope. Taylor has been creating official Grateful Dead art since the former VP of Grateful Dead Productions discovered her in a parking lot at a show in 2003 and offered her a license on the spot. Her work has become iconic in it’s own right, having become widely associated with the generations of Deadheads who have grown up in the wake of Jerry Garcia’s passing.
Riding the wave of excitement that followed Fare Thee Well where her poster was one of only four featured at both stadiums, and sharing Town Mountain’s deep appreciation for American roots music, Taylor says she “thoroughly enjoyed creating this image. I am obsessed with swimming and water in general, so when Town Mountain asked me to draw them a river with a Steal Your Face, it was a natural fit.”
The Honeycutters, Town Mountain, and Organic Records
Showcasing at AmericanaFest 2015
The Honeycutters. Photo by Sandlin Gaither
Honeycutters AMA Showcase
Saturday, September 19th
9pm at The Listening Room 217 2nd Ave S, Nashville, TN 37201 www.listeningroomcafe.com
The Honeycutters, an Asheville, NC-based original country roots band, released their third studio album, Me Oh My, on April 21, 2015 with Organic Records®. Fueled by the powerful songwriting and vocals of founder Amanda Platt, Me Oh My moves her into the spotlight as producer, band leader, and principal creative force behind the band. With songs that are honest and relatable, part chagrin and part hope, Platt’s voice carries a timeless appeal.
Me Oh My debuted at #33 on the Americana Music Chart and was listed 11 weeks straight in the Americana top 30 chart! They also were just voted Western North Carolina’s Best Americana/ Country band five years running in Mountain Xpress‘ annual Reader’s Poll.
Led by songwriter Amanda Anne Platt, The Honeycutters include Tal Taylor on mandolin, Rick Cooper on bass, Josh Milligan on drums, and Matt Smith rounds out the band on pedal steel, electric guitar, and dobro to create a sound that carries just as well across the bar room as in a church or a theater. Platt’s songs are shaped by a raw honesty that comes straight from the heart and emits a sort of melancholy happiness.
“The new album is the one I’m most proud of to date.” Platt says, “I took much more of a driver’s seat in it’s making, and the process has forced me to do a lot of growing up… I feel like I’ve really found my voice. I’m very excited about the line up of the band, and the songwriting includes some of my very favorites.”
Platt self produced the album along with the help of engineer and assistant producer Jon Ashley. They laid down the all original 14-track album in Echo Mountain Recording Studio and Mixtown Studio in Asheville, NC and it was mixed and mastered just down the road at Crossroads Studios in Arden, NC.
“From the first track – ‘Jukebox’ – to the closer (‘A Life For You’) this is a perfect album of tunes that – in most cases will have you dancing around the room (or at least tapping your toes).” —Steve Ramm, Amazon
“…Platt’s songwriting could be placed in the exceptional category, at least from the evidence Me Oh My presents in her favor. It’s not just the sorrow and sincerity, it’s the insight and the resonance.” —Saving Country Music
“Vocalist Amanda Platt has a voice that’s complex, sweet and aching. Even more potently, she writes songs that folks are citing as up there with the best of the field, such as Mary Gauthier and Lucinda Williams.” —Craig Havighurst, Music City Roots
Town Mountain. Photo by Sandlin Gaither.
Town Mountain AMA Showcase
Friday, September 18th
Midnight (12am) at The Station Inn
Closing Set, Directly after Willie Watson 402 12th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37203 www.stationinn.com
Town Mountain’s hard drivin’ bluegrass sound, tight harmonies, and stellar in-house songwriting have become the band’s trademark. They light up the stage with their honky tonk edge and barroom swagger, featuring a Jimmy Martin-style bounce and confidence that is countered at times by a laid-back John Hartford-esque groove. Town Mountain includes Robert Greer on vocals and guitar, Jesse Langlais on banjo and vocals, Bobby Britt on fiddle, Phil Barker on mandolin and vocals, and Adam Chaffins on bass.
Town Mountain is prolific in songwriting with each member contributing to their well-supplied vat of original material. They’ve been finalizing their next studio release which was produced and engineered by GRAMMY winner Dirk Powell in his studio, The Cypress House, in south Louisiana.
Town Mountain is about to release of Town Mountain: The Dead Session this summer. “Each member of this band has enjoyed the music of the Grateful Dead for quite some time,” says vocalist and guitarist Robert Greer. “It seemed only fitting for Town Mountain to pay respect to some musical heroes in this year, their 50th year of existence.” They recorded an impromptu set of two of their favorite songs from the Grateful Dead’s catalog at Echo Mountain Studios in their hometown of Asheville, NC.
They released their first official live album Town Mountain: Live At The Isis in the summer of 2014 following 2012’s Leave The Bottle and 2011’s Steady Operator (which were both produced by Mike Bub, five-time IBMA Bass Player of the Year). Town Mountain was nominated for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s 2014 Award for “Emerging Artist of The Year” following 2013’s honor of receiving IBMA Momentum Awards for “Band of the Year” and lead singer Robert Greer for “Vocalist of the Year.”
“Phil Barker’s ‘Lawdog’ sounds like an unearthed classic, and the group’s tight harmonies alone make this record [Leave the Bottle] a treat…”– Juli Thanki
“While it remains a bluegrass band in all things instrumentation and touring the bluegrass and festival circuit, its sound crosses into American roots and even outlaw country, perhaps as a result of the gritty, mournful tone of Greer’s vocals. It is reminiscent of the 1970s truck-driving film sound, the perfect accompaniment to a car chase through the south á la ‘Smokey and the Bandit.’” —Durango Herald, KDUR DJ Bryant Liggett
Organic Records Presents:
The Carolina Ball
Friday September 18th, 5-8pm
at Dan McGuinness Pub 1538 Demonbreun St.
Nashville, TN 37203 www.danmcguinnesspub.com
It’s Friday Happy Hour and this Asheville, NC’sOrganic Records® brings you new bands from North Carolina! Come hear the Americana-Honky Tonk sound of The Honeycutters, the classic Country of Merle Haggard’s favorite young band The Malpass Brothers and the working class ballads of Appalachia’s Aaron Burdett. All in Nashville’s beloved Irish house, Dan McGuinness Pub from 5-8pm on AMA Friday.
Organic Records is an eclectic home for a variety of artists that are singularly unique and defy categorization. In a time when music is becoming less defined by genre, Organic artists are developing their own musical identity outside the confines of traditional classifications. Organic Records is their natural habitat. Organic is an independent label based near Asheville, NC. They promote, distribute and market music created by original artists who defy genre categorization. Organic Records is a division of Crossroads Entertainment and Marketing, Inc.
Their team, with decades of music marketing, licensing, distribution and promotional experience, brings artists to the world marketplace. Their award winning, state-of-the-art recording studio has been in operation since 1993 and provides artists with a world-class recording experience. Their marketing division has promoted award-winning and GRAMMY®-nominated albums, and our radio promotion department has achieved multiple #1 singles. Organic Records is dedicated to the sustainable career of their artists and achieves this through cooperative efforts with their artists, their fans, media outlets, and industry relationships.
Town Mountain, New Belgium Brewing Co. and The Isis Present: The 3rd Annual Bluegrass Holiday Benefit
w/ Special Guests Mandolin Orange on Sat, Dec 20th at Isis Music Hall
Benefit for MANNA FoodBank & Funding America Through Entertainment (FATE) New Belgium Serves Up Several Special Beers With A Portion of Sales Being Donated
—A Percentage of All Ticket Sales Will Be Donated— $20; 5PM door (dining seating available) / 9pm show; Raffle
General Admission with Some Balcony Seating
828-575-2737
743 Haywood Road Asheville, NC 28806 www.IsisAsheville.com
On Saturday, December 20th, 2014 Town Mountain and Mandolin Orange will play a benefit for two local hunger relief organizations, Funding America Through Entertainment (FATE) and MANNA FoodBank at Isis Restaurant and Music Hall in Asheville, NC.New Belgium Brewing Company is sponsoring the event and will donate proceeds from their beer sales in addition to a monetary bonus. Town Mountain has dedicated a portion of ticket sales for the cause as well as arranged for a 50/50 raffle the evening of the show. This is the 3rd time that FATE and Town Mountain have teamed up to fight hunger, having donated more than $3000 towards the cause and Town Mountain will continue to develop the Holiday Bluegrass Benefit as an annual tradition.
Town Mountain. Photo by Jason Beverly.
Asheville-based Town Mountain’s hard drivin’ bluegrass sound, tight harmonies, and stellar in-house songwriting have become the band’s trademark as they have grown into a national touring act performing at at some of the most prestigious festivals in the country such as MerleFest, Grey Fox, Rockygrass, Suwannee Springfest and the Targhee Bluegrass Festival, just to mention a few. They light up the stage with their honky tonk edge and barroom swagger, featuring a Jimmy Martin-style bounce and confidence that is countered at times by a laid-back John Hartford-esque groove. Town Mountain includes Robert Greer on vocals and guitar, Jesse Langlais on banjo and vocals, Bobby Britt on fiddle, Phil Barker on mandolin and vocals, and Nick DiSebastian on bass.
The band is thrilled to be hosting this year’s Bluegrass Holiday Benefit with longtime friends Mandolin Orange at Isis Music Hall, the location where Town Mountain’s new album, Live At The Isis, was recorded.
Mandolin Orange, hailing from Carrboro, NC, is Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz. “Mandolin Orange carries an understanding of tradition and shape it into a thing of beauty. They craft simple songs that go beyond chord progressions and vocal harmonies, leading somehow toward something pure. Using acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin and a hand-me-down fiddle, Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz allure with a heart-worn sensibility…[which] combines bluegrass, rock and country for lullabies that swoon,” writes Independent Weekly. They released their 3rd album, This Side of Jordan last summer through Yep Roc Records and have made quite a bit of noise on the folk/Americana circuit, while displaying a virtuosity and exuberance that crosses over to more indie-rock inclined audiences.
MANNA FoodBank is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving Western North Carolina since 1983. As an accredited member of Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization, the mission of MANNA FoodBank is to involve, educate, and unite people in the work of ending hunger in Western North Carolina. MANNA serves 221 non-profit member agencies in 16 Western North Carolina. For more information, visit MANNAFoodbank.org or call 828-299-FOOD.
FATE specializes in facilitating relationships among corporate entities, Feeding America food banks, and entertainers. FATE brings attention to various hunger-related issues and generates revenues to combat hunger. In 2013, FATE generated revenues in excess of $20,000 for hunger relief organizations. More than $10,000 was generated for Asheville’s MANNA FoodBank!! For more info visit www.SupportFate.org
Town Mountain is Honored to be Nominated For “Emerging Artist of the Year” In This Fall’s International Bluegrass Music Association’s Awards
Their New Album, Live At The Isis, Hits the Streets on August 19th Recorded at Isis Music Hall in the Band’s Hometown of Asheville, NC
We are thrilled to announce that Town Mountain has been nominated for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s 2014 Award for “Emerging Artist of The Year.” This nomination follows last years honor of receiving IBMA Momentum Awards for “Band of the Year” and lead singer Robert Greer for “Vocalist of the Year.” The members of Town Mountain have thought long and hard about their cultivated roots music groove with strong focus on crafting original material. “Without doubt, this band has fine writing chops,” writes Donald Teplyske in the Lonesome Road Review.
The past two years have pushed Town Mountain into the upper tier of acoustic bands and they have found themselves along the side of some of the best artists today at some of the most prestigious festivals in the country such as MerleFest, Grey Fox, Rockygrass, Suwannee Springfest and the Targhee Bluegrass Festival just to mention a few.
Town Mountain’s hard drivin’ bluegrass sound, tight harmonies, and stellar in-house songwriting have become the band’s trademark. They light up the stage with their honky tonk edge and barroom swagger, featuring a Jimmy Martin-style bounce and confidence that is countered at times by a laid-back John Hartford-esque groove. Town Mountain includes Robert Greer on vocals and guitar, Jesse Langlais on banjo and vocals, Bobby Britt on fiddle, Phil Barker on mandolin and vocals, and Nick DiSebastian on bass.
“It’s a proud moment in Town Mountain’s history, for sure,” said banjoist Jesse Langlais to acclaimed journalist Derek Halsey after last year’s awards show. “We’re out there doing what we do because we love to play the music… it is really nice to be recognized by the IBMA and we have experienced some good things to come from it already. When you look at it as this big wheel that is spinning, the music industry wheel, it’s great and hopefully we can live up to those momentous expectations and I think we will. We will do what we can to help to carry the legacy of the music on and make the IBMA and all who believe in Town Mountain proud of what we do.”
They are set to release their first official live album, Town Mountain: Live At The Isis, on August 19th, 2014. The concert was recorded in their hometown of Asheville, NC at Isis Music Hall. The album features live versions of previously released studio material including crowd favorites “Lawdog,” “Tarheel Boys” and the fiddle tune “Four Miles.” Amidst the original songs are a couple of lively Town Mountain-tweaked covers such as “The Race Is On” and “Orange Blossom Special.” The audio was mixed by Scott Vestal, acclaimed banjoist with the Sam Bush Band, who also mixed their fourth studio album Leave The Bottle [Pinecastle Records 2012].
Leave the Bottle, which was produced by Mike Bub, garnered the band much positive praise. Bluegrass Today’s David Morris says, “I’m not sure what the definition of bluegrass would be in words alone, but if that definition was set to music, it would probably sound something like Town Mountain’s Leave the Bottle… I could go on… There are no duds, and no filler songs on this project. But you get the point. This, my friends, is how bluegrass is supposed to sound.” The Bluegrass Situation’s Devon Leger repeats this reflection saying, “They play bluegrass. Period. They play it hard, they play it fast, and they play it like their fingers are bleeding and their picks are breaking.”
The group has focused on the goal of creating a unique sound and brand while still giving a nod and a wink to the traditional side of the bluegrass genre. Juli Thanki of Engine 145 says, “Phil Barker’s ‘Lawdog’ sounds like an unearthed classic, and the group’s tight harmonies alone make this record [Leave the Bottle] a treat for any bluegrass fan.”
Town Mountain has been busy writing new songs for their next studio effort which will be out in early 2015. For a sneak peak at what to expect for their future recording, watch the band perform some of their new original songs in this wonderful session filmed by Boulder’s Second Story Garage while the were in the area to perform at this year’s Rockygrass:
They are currently touring the Northwest before a plethora of dates in northeast, the southern appalachian region, and the midwest. In the fall the band will be appearing at the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, Watermelon Park Festival, IBMA’s World of Bluegrass Festival, 34th Annual Georgia MarbleFest and a host of other shows.
The band has been having an exciting year so far and have traveled far and wide including some notable appearances in 2014 at Wintergrass, Suwannee Springfest, Durango Bluegrass MeltDown, Music City Roots, MerleFest, Lake Eden Arts Festival, Graves Mountain Festival, Best of Bluegrass, California Bluegrass Association Father’s Day Festival, Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival, The Grey Fox Music Festival, Rockygrass and Targhee Bluegrass Festival, as well as a recent show at City Winery in Chicago supporting Ralph Stanley and his Clinch Mountain Boys.
Town Mountain on Tour 2014 8/15 Fri – The Nelson Odeon – Cazenovia, NY 8/16 Sat – Riverlink Park Summer Concert Series 2014- Amsterdam, NY 8/17 Sun – Club Passim – Cambridge, MA 8/21 Thu – Cosmic Charlie’s – Lexington, KY 8/22 Fri – Isis Music Hall – Asheville, NC 8/29 Fri – Zanzabar – Louisville, KY 8/30 Sat – Red, White and Bluegrass At Holiday World – Santa Claus, IN 9/04 Thu – 8 x 10 – Baltimore, MD 9/05 Fri – Historic Blairstown Theater – Blairstown, NJ 9/12-13 Fri-Sat – Pickin’ in the Pines Bluegrass & Acoustic Music Fest – Flagstaff, AZ 9/20 Sat – Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion Bristol, TN 9/26 Fri – Watermelon Park Festival- Berryville, VA 9/27 Sat – Music Box Supper Club – Cleveland, OH 9/28 Sun – Rinky Dinks Roadhouse – Amity, PA 10/03 Fri – IBMA’s Wide Open Bluegrass – Raleigh, NC 10/04 Sat – 34th Annual Georgia MarbleFest – Marble, CO 10/15 Wed – Station Inn- Nashville, TN 10/16 Thu – The Southgate House Revival – Revival Room – Newport KY 10/17 Fri – Stoney Point Jamboree – Paris, KY 10/18 Sat – Historic Cowee School Concert Series – Franklin NC 10/23 Thu – Ashland Coffee and Tea – Ashland, VA 10/24 Fri – Gypsy Sally’s – Washington DC 11/6-7 Thu-Fri – Riverhawk Music Festival – Brooksville, FL 11/14 Fri – Randy Wood Guitars – Bloomingdale, GA 11/24-12/05 Bluegrass Jamboree Tour in Germany & Czech Republic
What Folks Are Saying about Town Mountain and Southern Crescent:
Dreamspider's Blog 