About Town Mountain & I Draw Slow
ASHEVILLE, NC -- Raw, soulful, and with plenty of swagger, 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. 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.
???The Asheville, North Carolina, five-piece hews pretty close to tradition, especially when it comes to instrumentation: acoustic guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and double bass. And with three vocalists and driving forces within the band ??? guitarist Robert Greer, banjoist Jesse Langlais and mandolinist Phil Barker ??? the harmonies are there??? But the band??? has serious country and rock ???n??? roll DNA,??? says The Bend Bulletin???s Brian McElhiney. Town Mountain also features fiddler Jack Devereux and Zach Smith on bass.
They released their 5th studio album, Southern Crescent, on April 1, 2016 on LoHi Records and toured throughout the year with it. Produced and engineered by GRAMMY winner Dirk Powell, Southern Crescent was recorded in Powell???s studio The Cypress House in south-central Louisiana town of Breaux Bridge. Since it???s release the band debuted on the Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium stages bringing their sound to new audiences. The critically acclaimed album debuted at #4 on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart while staying for ten weeks on the Americana Music Association's radio chart???s Top 40.
???This Asheville band killed it at the Ryman this summer [2016] opening up the bluegrass series and they put out this stellar collection of original songs that asserts them as the hippest, bluest traditional bluegrass band of their generation. In an era of bluegrass with manners, they cut with a serrated edge,??? exclaims Nashville???s Roots Radio???s Craig Havighurst in his list of ???Essential Americana Albums We Loved in 2016.???
Town Mountain has released five studio albums including their most recent, Southern Crescent (LoHi Records 2016) which 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 album???s ???Songs of escape (???Ain???t Gonna Worry Me???), reunion (???Comin??? Back to You???), alienation (???House with No Windows???), rambling (???Wildbird???), and gambling (???Arkansas Gambler???) present a panorama of sentiments and situations adding heft to the bluegrass canon,??? according to Raleigh News & Observer???s Jack Bernhardt.
?
Other efforts include Leave The Bottle (Pinecastle Records 2012), Steady Operator (Pinecastle Records 2011), and Heroes & Heretics (October 2008). They also independently released a LIVE album (2014 from a show at Isis Music Hall in Asheville) as well as a two-song EP (2015) of Grateful Dead tunes called The Dead Sessions. Their debut album (June 2008) is entitled Original Bluegrass and Roots Country and KSUT/Durango Telegraph???s Chris Aaland writes, ???No critic has coined a better phrase to describe their sound.??? ?
While the members have taken the road less traveled when it comes to the mainstream or traditional purists, they???ve been dubbed as "The Taco Stand Troubadours??? by Aaland (due to their frequent stops at such establishments) and he calls them ???one of those bands that has paid its dues and won over the Durango audience through the years, much like the Gourds and Leftover Salmon.???
In 2016 they performed opening shows with Railroad Earth, Peter Rowan, Hard Working Americans, Greensky Bluegrass, Yonder Mountain String Band, and Jim Lauderdale adding to previous years??? performances with Ralph Stanley and his Clinch Mountain Boys, The Del McCoury Band, The Seldom Scene, The Infamous Stringdusters, The Steep Canyon Rangers among others.
Since their formation in 2005, the same year they won the prestigious Rockygrass band competition, Town Mountain has traversed many a mile across the States, including Alaska, as well as into Canada, Germany, and Finland. Town Mountain has made their rounds to a plethora of festivals throughout the years including Pickathon, IBMA???s Wide Open Bluegrass, Wintergrass, The Durango Meltdown, MerleFest, Watermelon Park Festival, Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, Suwannee Roots Revival, Suwannee Springfest, Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, The Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival, The California Bluegrass Association???s Father???s Day Festival, DelFest, Lake Eden Arts Festival, Graves Mountain Festival, Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival, Nelsonville Music Festival in Ohio, ROMP, The Festival of the Bluegrass, Three Rivers Arts Festival, Denver Beer Co.???s Sundrenched Music Festival, Rooster Walk, Mountain Song, and Nelsonville Music Festival among others. ?
What has become one of the group???s more memorable live performance songs is their cover of Bruce Springsteen???s ???I???m On Fire,??? which they first recorded in 2008???s Heroes & Heretics, with Greer???s distinctive Southern drawl at the forefront. The track has reached over 2 million listens on Spotify and garnered over 850,000 views on a YouTube video posted in 2012. The Atlantic???s Matt Vasilogambros writes, ???Bruce Springsteen is a natural fit for bluegrass??? Even the Boss???s earlier music had hints of folk influences. Just listen to ???I???m On Fire?????? I keep turning to one cover, which I admittedly listen to more often than the original. It???s from Town Mountain??? They dropped the synthesizer, added a banjo, a fiddle, and another singer for harmony, and made a gem.???
Another fan favorite is their Jimmy Martin-esque original ???Lawdog,??? penned by Barker in 2012, which music journalist Juli Thanki instantly called an ???unearthed classic??? when the album was released. They recorded a live version of the song at WAMU???s Bluegrass Country Radio in 2013 which has nearly 100,000 views and continues to be a barn burner to this day with the entire crowd singing along as barker sings, ???I make my livin driving, I???m a bluegrass music man??? Chasin the horizon, for another one night stand??? I got a lot of miles to travel, and I???m runnin a little late??? And a no show gets me nothin, so don???t you get in my way. I got no time for ya lawdog??????
???While it remains a bluegrass band in all things instrumentation and touring the bluegrass and festival circuit, it's??? sound crosses into American roots and even outlaw country, perhaps as a result of the gritty, mournful tone of Greer???s vocals.??? Durango???s KDUR radio???s DJ, Bryant Liggett says, ???It is reminiscent of the 1970s truck-driving film sound, the perfect accompaniment to a car chase through the south ?? la ???Smokey and the Bandit.??????
Dublin, Ireland???s I Draw Slow has already won the adoration of fans in their home country and North America by combining American folk and Irish storytelling traditions with close-harmony vocals, intriguing instrumentation and compelling subject matter. And on their debut with Compass Records, Turn Your Face to the Sun, releasing April 21, 2017, the band adds even more depth to their sound and songwriting.
This time out, sibling vocalists Dave and Louise Holden, with Dave on acoustic guitar, Adrian Hart on violin, Colin Derham on clawhammer banjo and Konrad Liddy on double bass, chose to color their blend of vocals and strings with brass and percussion. They also chose to address a theme of loss, through lyrics that examine both the darker side of human nature and the goodness of redemption.
The band first drew attention beyond Ireland???s shores with their 2011 release, Redhills. Fueled by a prominent Spotify playlist placement and a video suggesting both 1890s bordello and 1920s speakeasy, the song ???Goldmine??? became the album???s breakout track. Their follow-up album, 2014???s White Wave Chapel, reached No. 2 on Ireland???s iTunes chart, driven in part by the video for ???Valentine,??? which featured Game of Thrones star Aidan Gillen.
In the meantime, they established themselves as festival standouts, appearing at MerleFest, Pickathon, Wintergrass, RockyGrass, Grey Fox, Red Wing, Edmonton Folk Fest and High Sierra Music Festival to name a few. They???ve also appeared on many radio shows, including the syndicated ???Mountain Stage.???
Their energetic live performances and inventive combination of Appalachian and Irish roots music has drawn so much support, they were able to completely crowd-fund the recording of Turn Your Face to the Sun ??? which they tracked over one weekend, camping out in a house in County Wicklow, Ireland, with engineer Brian Masterson (U2, Van Morrison). It captures I Draw Slow at their best ??? when they???re all together, separated only by air.
Speaking of air, first-time I Draw Slow listeners ought to be warned: This band very well might take their breath away. And they won???t even mind.
???With White Wave Chapel, their best album to date, under their belt, it seems a matter of time before I Draw Slow will dominate the global folk scene.???
???Peter McGuire, Huffington Post UK
"For an all-acoustic group, I Draw Slow sure do have a fully realized sound. May we recommend "Valentine," "Grand Hotel" and "Don't She Run."- The Bluegrass Situation
"It???s as gritty as it is beautiful" CMT Edge
???Their lyrics are evocative and imaginative, yet remarkably in an entirely American idiom and vernacular ??? no Gaelic transposed to fit the hills and hollers. Songs like ???Bread & Butter??? and ???Hide & Seek??? resonate rhythmically and lyrically??????
-Sing-Out Magazine
???Their writing is skilled, rich and wonderfully mature???the album is a delight??????
-KDHX
???I Draw Slow is a high-powered bluegrass band from Ireland, who discovered the genre while busking in Australia. Perfect for an all-American musical mish-mash of Appalachian Mountain music, blues, jazz and traditional country! Hear for yourself on White Wave Chapel.??? FOLK ALLEY
Videos
Comments
Explore Nearby
-
1
Saul Subsidiary II Limited Partnership
Restaurants -
2
10th Street Grill
Restaurants -
3
Lotus Tours
Attractions -
4
National Aquarium
Attractions -
5
Four Points By Sheraton Washington D.c. Downtown
Hotels
-
1
Saul Subsidiary II Limited Partnership
601 Pennsylvania Ave NW -
2
10th Street Grill
518 10th St NW -
3
Bar Louie, Washington DC
701 7th Street NW -
4
Chinese Consolidated Bnvlnt
510 I St NW -
5
Stoneys Beef N Beer
1307 L St NW -
6
Tantra Lounge at indebleu
707 G St NW -
7
Bluepoint Fish Club
1299 Pennsylvania Ave NW -
8
Bistro Bis
15 E St NW -
9
Mio
1110 Vermont Ave NW -
10
Legal Sea Foods - 7th Street
704 7th Street NW -
11
Lima Restaurant & Lounge
1401 K St NW -
12
District Chophouse & Brewery
509 7th St NW -
13
Oya Restuarant & Lounge
777 9th St NW -
14
Carmine's
425 7th St NW -
15
Dc Coast
1401 K St NW -
16
Clyde's Of Gallery Place
707 7th St NW -
17
Ceiba
701 14th St NW -
18
Charlie Palmer Steak
101 Constitution Ave NW -
19
Capital Grille
601 Pennsylvania Ave NW -
20
Rasika
633 D St NW
-
1
Lotus Tours
610 I St NW -
2
National Aquarium
1401 Constitution Ave -
3
Korea Business Center
1225 I St NW -
4
Lafayette Park
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW -
5
White House
600 Pennsylvania Ave NW -
6
Insect Zoo at National Museum of Natural History
10th St and Constitution Ave NW -
7
Farragut Square Park
Farragut Square -
8
Lafayette Park
Pennsylvania Ave and Jackson Pl, NW -
9
Franklin Square Park
14th Street & K Street NW -
10
National Portrait Gallery
8th St & F St NW -
11
National Museum of Natural History
10th St & Constitution Ave Nw -
12
Madame Tussauds
1001 F St NW -
13
Ford's Theatre
511 10th St NW -
14
National Geographic Museum
1145 17th Street, NW -
15
National Museum Of Crime & Punishment
575 7th St NW -
16
Hard Rock Cafe - Washington DC
999 E Street, NW -
17
Washington DC Dinner Cruise
Book Tours Online! -
18
Gettysburg Day Trip from Washington DC
Book Tours Online! -
19
Lincoln Assassination Walking Tour in Washington DC
Book Tours Online! -
20
DC Newseum
555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW -
21
Admission to Washington DC Newseum
Book Tours Online! -
22
National Gallery of Art Small-Group Walking Tour
Book Tours Online!
-
1
Four Points By Sheraton Washington D.c. Downtown
1201 K St Nw -
2
Crowne Plaza Hamilton
1001 14th St NW -
3
Hyatt Regency Washington Dc
400 New Jersey Ave NW -
4
Westin Washington Dc
1400 M Street, NW -
5
The Liaison Capitol Hill, An Affinia Hotel
415 New Jersey Ave Nw -
6
Phoenix Park Hotel
520 N Capitol St NW -
7
Washington Court Hotel
525 New Jersey Ave Nw -
8
Hilton Garden Inn Washington Dc Downtown
815 14th St NW -
9
Renaissance Washington, Dc Downtown Hotel
999 9th St Nw -
10
Sofitel Washington Dc Lafayette Square
806 15th Street NW -
11
Bridgestreet City Center
825 Tenth Street NW -
12
Luxury Flat Downtown DC
300 Massachusetts Avenue NW -
13
Hyatt Place DC/Downtown/K Street
1522 K Street, NW -
14
W Washington D.c.
515 15th Street, NW -
15
The Hay-adams
800 16th Street NW -
16
Residence Inn By Marriott Washington, Dc Downtown
1199 Vermont Ave Nw -
17
Donovan House, A Kimpton Hotel
1155 14th St NW
© 2024 WashingtonDC.com: A City Guide by Boulevards. All Rights Reserved. Advertise with us | Contact us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Site Map