My college town started doing a music festival in the summer between my freshman and sophomore years. I was taking summer classes, and decided to take the day off to see the performances. On the stoop of an old house on our main street the Tray Wellington Band played selections from the frontmans newest album, Black Banjo. I have an affinity for bluegrass, and Tray Wellington is exactly what the doctor ordered some days. So when I saw he had a new album coming out, Detour To The Moon, I ordered a CD copy and I love it!
It's a combination of slow and fast tracks, ballads and rags, plus a lovely cover of Caravan. While I think I still prefer Black Banjo, I'm happy to add this to my collection. I don't have a lot of bluegrass as it stands right now, just some Doc Watson albums and some local groups that so happened to press CD-Rs 20 years ago. I'm not exactly sure how I caught the bluegrass bug, but I've always had some sort of fondness for it. One of my childhood friends played just about every instrument, and I distinctly remember him playing mandolin around the campfire during a cub scout camping trip. There have been groups local to both my hometown and my college in the Appalachian Mountains, and I love seeing them when I can. Shoot, my college even hosts a yearly fiddlers convention that I try and attend.
Bluegrass is such an unrefined kind of music. The performers show technical skill and an understanding of music theory rivaling professionals at their highest level, but these are people just playing for themselves and their neighbors. It's not commercial, it's hardly institutionalized, in my opinion it's one of the last great passed on skills. Parents teach their kids, and the groups that play at the fiddlers convention are usually family ensembles composed of whoever can hold an instrument. I hope to someday learn an instrument like banjo or fiddle, to have that skill for the rest of my life. I guess the only way to do it is to start now. Detour To The Moon is available for streaming and purchase wherever you get your music, and physical editions can be found at Tray Wellingtons website. While you're at it, check out Black Banjo!
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