Shannon and Heather Slaughter have announced that Blake Bowen has joined their touring band, County Clare. He has worked previously as a member of Randy Waller & The Country Gentlemen, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, and the Tina Adair Band. He comes by his talents naturally, as the son of noted mandolinist and vocalist, Jimmy Bowen.
The move is in response to the departure of original mandolinist Ronald Inscore, who had joined the band when they were based in western North Carolina. With the Slaughters now living in north Alabama, the travel distance for Ronald became an obstacle, given his commitment to a full time career in nuclear medicine.
Heather is moving to mandolin, with Blake taking her bass spot. John Boulware remains on fiddle, Casey Murray on banjo and Shannon on guitar.
Blake tells us that he is delighted to come aboard.
“I am absolutely thrilled and honored at the opportunity to play with Shannon and Heather. They are all such stellar players and even better people. I greatly appreciate their unique and inspiring sound and look forward to being a part of it.”
And Shannon is happy to have him.
“While we are saddened that the logistics will no longer allow Ron to play with us full-time, we are thrilled that Blake has joined us in County Clare. He is a great person, a family-oriented man, and he really grooves on the upright bass!!
We are also excited to move Heather over to mandolin, as she is an outstanding player. She chose to learn how to play the bass four years ago, so we could play and sing with Ron, but now she is back on her main instrument. We are really excited about the new possibilities of the band!!”
The band’s debut album, One More Road, was released in March, 2013. You can follow their tour schedule online.
