The Barn Cats at The Mountain Heritage Center

The Barn Cats performed last night at the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC. The Barn Cats are the three piece band consisting of  Frank Lee, Issac Deal, and Bradley Adams of the Freight Hoppers. Even though though they were without David Bass on fiddle (he was out of town and unable to attend) their inspired passion for traditional music made for great times and great music.
It just doesn't get any better on a cold and rainy winter night in Appalachia.


From their website: http://www.thefreighthoppers.com/
 

The Freight Hoppers: Bio  After more than a decade The Freight Hoppers have released their eagerly awaited fourth album Mile Marker. This collection includes music that was first recorded in the late 1920's and early 1930's, and spans geographically from Mississippi to West Virginia. The Freight Hoppers play hard driving old time music with an emotional, raw excitement that keeps one foot planted in the past and the other in the present. Of course that’s only when they keep their feet still, for this is high energy dance music of an older day played like there's no tomorrow. Finding their passion from a love of stringband music of the 1920's and 30's, The Freight Hoppers have been entertaining crowds of fans at festivals and music halls alike as they travel around the country. The heart of the band is held together by the powerhouse fiddle and banjo combo of David Bass and Frank Lee, while the rhythm section of Isaac Deal on guitar and Bradley Adams on string bass keep the groove moving. Add in the vocal duo of Frank and Isaac, and you've got yourself one of the most exciting traditional bands to come out of the woodwork. Based out of the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, The Freight Hoppers draw from a deep source of rural southern music for their inspiration, and are proud to present music that is still very much alive and meaningful to today's world.

The Freight Hoppers are:
David Bass fiddle
Frank Lee banjo, vocal
Isaac Deal guitar, vocal
Bradley Adams string bass

Del Yeah! Black Mountain

We were fortunate enough to be able to attend the first Del Yeah! weekend at the Pisgah Brewery venue in Black Mountain yesterday. It was a wonderful day spent enjoying beautiful mountain weather and listening to superb mountain music. Labor Day weekend doesn't get any better than this; if you missed it, you missed out indeed!

The lineup featured Charlotte rockers The New Familiars, Asheville bluegrass band Town Mountain, Black Mountain's Paco Shipp on blues harmonica, Colorado super group The Emmitt Nershi Band, and, of course, the one and only Del McCoury Band.

The enthusiastic crowd gave their love to Del and the boys. Del summed it all up in the lyrics from "Sweet Appalachia":

I’ve got that sweet mountain soul down in my bones,
And I can feel it when I sing them lonesome songs.


And I can tell by the way I feel,
That it comes from somewhere else,

Got that sweet mountain soul down in my bones.


I’ve got that sweet mountain spirit down in my veins,
And it flows through my heart like a mountain rain,

And no matter where I might roam,

These hills and hollers are still my home,

Got that sweet mountain spirit down in my veins.



Some people call me Hillbilly,
Some people call me Mountain Man,
Well, you can call me Appalachia,
Appalachia’s what I am.


Bobby Miller and The Virginia Dare Devils / Brother, Adieu

The new release by Bobby Miller and the Virginia Dare Devils is finally here!  The Virginia Dare Devils deliver a precise and beautiful sound which tends more towards the traditional/classical end of the contemporary bluegrass genre.  This is a delightful and refreshing collection of songs and instrumentals by a talented group of  master musicians.  It has already found a cozy spot in my collection.  I've been listening over and over since downloading and enjoying every minute of it.  Thanks for this one, Bobby Miller!

The Virginia Dare Devils are: Bobby Miller lead vocals and Mandolin, Griff Martin vocals and guitar, Bill Cardine dobro, Billy Constable banjo, and Stefan Custodi bass.   Several other well known Asheville musicians appear as guests on the recording.

Download  these 11 songs of bluegrass bliss by the stellar Asheville-area group for only 9.99 at Digstation Download.