Pinecastle Music has announced that Karl Shiflett and Big Country Show have signed with the label, and will release a new CD, Take Me Back, by late Spring.
Shifflett goes way past a traditionalist approach with his music. Throwback might be the most accurate description, though perhaps preservationist has a more academic gloss.
The basic point is that in his recordings, and in live shows with the band, both the sound and the look of 1950s bluegrass is the order of the day. Shoot… Shiiflett even plays his guitar with a thumb pick, a la Lester Flatt.
For this new record, Karl says he has chosen music based on his own childhood memories.
“Take Me Back is primarily a collection of tunes I heard and learned while growing up in Texas in the mid sixties (about 45 years ago).”
There are songs from seminal artists like Bob Wills, Faron Young, Willie Nelson and Floyd Tillman, plus bluegrass royalty like Flatt & Scruggs and Bill Monroe. Karl has one new song of his included, Open Up Your Heart (and Let Jesus In), and one from Monroe Fields, Song on the Jukebox.
He is joined by his current touring group: Chris Hill on banjo, Kris Shiflett on bass, C.J. Lewandowski on mandolin and Billy Hurt on fiddle.
Tour dates and more details about the Big Country Show can be found online.
