It seems like there are two trajectories young bluegrass musicians follow when they break into awareness by the broader Americana audience. One arc is to toil away for years perfecting your entire craft before bursting onto the scene with arena shows. I’m looking at you Billy and Molly. The other, more linear path, is exemplified by Bronwyn, fka Bronwyn Keith-Hynes. She first caught many people’s eye as the fair-haired, whirling dervish of a fiddle player who was twice IBMA’s fiddler of the year. Playing to that strength she released her debut album a few years ago as an instrumental-only offering. With encouragement by, among others, her Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway bandmates, she stepped up to more vocal opportunities. With her newest record, Rattlin’ Bones, she’s expanding further by writing or co-writing all the songs.
The cuts are pretty evenly divided between more traditional bluegrass tunes and wider open progressive ones. The CD opens with Sticks And Stones, with a Flatt & Scruggs or Del McCoury vibe. It’s one of several songs getting flavor from Bronwyn’s touring life, in this case the necessity of the road because “I can’t seem to make no money staying round home.” Chasing Storms, like about half the tracks, features Darrell Scott on harmony vocals. Inspired by a Florida thunderstorm, it compares a relationship to Mother Nature’s fury where “the wind keeps slamming all our open doors.” The Wishing Well is a take on the Appalachian classic murder ballad, this time where the protagonist is a woman who’s had enough when her former man returns, oblivious to all the times he’s wronged her.
On the jammier side is Blink of an Eye, a tale of a random meeting of glances and how that could progress into a relationship. It’s only 4 minutes, but it captures Bronwyn and her band’s instrumental prowess just as well as any jam band’s extended number. Gallatin Road gets a little funkier with guest vocalist Timbo bringing in some country soul. With shout-outs to Dee’s and the American Legion, this carries an East Nashville sound to a song about East Nashville. Flower Child imagines the character behind that dancer you always see up front at festivals. Rainbow Trout has a laid back tempo and an appreciation for life’s small pleasures that had me immediately thinking of John Hartford. It features new husband Jason Carter on harmony vocals and former bandmate Dominick Leslie on mandolin.
In addition to all the name dropping I’ve already done, Bronwyn got Bryan Sutton and Jerry Douglas to contribute their instrumental virtuosity to several pieces on the album. With all that talent splayed across the record it would have been easy for it to sound like some sort of all-star anthology. But these are Bronwyn’s songs and Bronwyn’s vocals and her fiddle supports the effort instead of leading it. You can, and should, hear it for yourself on Rattlin’ Bones.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.