Bluegrass and Tea Leaves

Bluegrass music has been around long enough now for musicians to mess around with it. Play with it. Have some fun. Combine it with rock n' roll. Hip-hop. Gospel. Country. Folk. Classical.

But bluegrass combined with traditional Chinese music? I believe Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet are the first ones to brave that attempt.

And WOW! Does it work!

Abigail understands that liking strange toys is a
 prerequisite for appreciating Asian cultures.

A little explanation: Abigail Washburn is a banjo player and singer from Illinois. Straight-up American. Her bluegrass group called Uncle Earl was a big hit on the scene. However, she spent enough time in living in China after college to learn Mandarin and begin recording in it post-Uncle Earl. In 2004 she went on tour in Tibet with the uber-accomplished members of her quartet, which includes Béla Fleck on banjo, Casey Driessen on violin, and Ben Sollee on cello.

The GOOD SONG for today is Kangding Quingge (Old Timey Dance Party), which is such a fun song. The cello is fantastic. And then she starts singing in Chinese, accompanied by a banjo! It starts to get funkier as you go on. I wish I had something to say about the lyrics... but I have absolutely no idea what she's saying. She's got a nice voice though. 


BUY HER MUSIC HERE: Abigail Washburn!

If you like this song, you might also like:

Joanna Newsom

Chatham County Line

Béla Fleck

Uncle Earl

Chinese music???

Over and out,

Anna

The Open Road

Let's go on a road trip! Let's get outta the city!
Fortunately, I know a really tasty Midwestern band by the name of Jayber Crow.
For those lit freaks out there, the name might sound a bit familiar. Jayber Crow may be a random indie-folk band from Minnesota, but it is also the name of a character from the writings of Wendell Berry.

Not in the band. 

I have yet to read his stuff (kinda like how I also have yet to read Flannery O'Connor... you may be noticing a pattern here), but his poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, focusing largely on life in middle America, have gained him a huge following. That following apparently includes Zach and Pete from the Jayber Crow. Which makes sense, since their music revolves mostly around life in the midwest. And it's fabulous. 

You can tell they're from the Midwest 'cuz they wear plaid...
and they're near plants.

The GOOD SONG for today is "The Farmer and the Nomad" from their short EP entitled "The Farmer and the Nomad" from 2008.
You can listen to it by going to the Jayber Crow website, and listening to it on their music player at the top of their homepage. It's the 3rd song. Here is their site: Jayber Crow


This is a pretty mellow song of theirs, although plenty of their songs are more energetic, guitar-and-banjo-driven songs. They sing of the gradual shifting from nomad to farmer. The farmer's deep roots and ties to the land combined with the nomad's longing to wander. You can definitely see why they might like the writing of Wendall Berry if you listen to their lyrics.


"But until then,
it's just the shifting grass
and the open road."

They released a full-length EP entitled "Two Short Stories" in 2009, which is awesome. On that album, I highly recommend listening to "Devil and the Desert" (about Jesus's 40 days of temptation in the Desert) and "Drinking Song of a Germinating Seed."

Their stuff in general is awesome-- you can find their two CD's ( "The Farmer and the Nomad" and "Two Short Stories") on iTunes. Check 'em out.  I'm a sucker for their harmonica. 

If you like this song by Jayber Crow, you might also check out:

Josh Ritter

Old Canes

Bright Eyes/Conor Oberst

Papercuts

Forest Sun

The Rural Alberta Advantage

Let me know what you think! Comments are good! It's nice to know if people are actually reading. And more importantly, listening. 

Over and out,
Anna