A few years ago a friend of mine told me about a Monday night bluegrass show at Dee’s in East Nashville. He said it was like a romper room for string band musicians, where fun was favored over taking the traditions of bluegrass too seriously. The lineup was always a little different, but had a core group that kept the talent level high. Unbeknownst to me at the time, and maybe to him, that core had become East Nash Grass and those Monday night sets were the crucible that started them down the road to becoming last year’s IBMA New Artist of the Year. They have a new album out, All God’s Children.
The record leans towards a traditional style of bluegrass, but with a few plot twists and turns. In Such A Short Time is an uptempo number about love at first sight where “you left me so breathless and my knees were so weak.” Bend In the Road has a little touch of square dance to its feel…and I have no idea what the lyrics are about. But with verses like “turtle waitin’ in an old pothole, save your tire and free his soul” you can’t say it’s not fun. Hill Country Highway is a life-on-the-road song, heavy on the perils whether man-made (diet pills & cigarettes) or natural (snow-covered mountain passes).
Speaking of peril, Git Along Little Yearlings is an old Jimmy Driftwood tune about a fraught-filled wagon train journey to Texas. It has an old-timey spirit to it, as does Redbird, a waltz where the band kicks up the vocal harmonies a couple of notches. The Love We Gave Up feels as much country as bluegrass in a tale about neither partner putting in the work needed to stay together. Lonesome Song also leans country, where “blue is how I feel with your love” contrasts with the beauty of the world around you.
When you hear a group won a best new artist award, it sounds like they recently came together. In the case of East Nash Grass they spent a decade playing together and with bluegrass legends like Rhonda Vincent, Tim O’Brien, and Dan Tyminski. All that experience coalesced into All God’s Children and you can hear it from the opening chords all the way through to the end of the album. Don’t let it slip by you.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.