Falling from Mason Via

Mason Via – photo © Michael Weintrob

Fresh off his three year stint with Old Crow Medicine Show, young Nashville grasser Mason Via has a new single to share from his next album with Mountain Fever Records.

A native North Carolinian, Mason grew up around the music, the son of longtime newgrass singer and songwriter Davis Via. So as soon as he finished school, Via the younger was ready to pursue music for himself. The OCMS gig came just as his first bluegrass album was released, and after being cut from American Idol at the Top 24 level. Had he been kept on the TV show he couldn’t have accepted the job with Old Crow, which has allowed him to share music with people all over the country since 2021.

Having left the band, he is focused now on his new project, with its first single called simply Falling.

Via said that he had never intended to record this as a grass cut, but is now mighty glad he did.

“I co-wrote this song with Charlie Chamberlain, who is known for co-writing on several Songs From The Road Band albums. We wrote this tune as a companion piece to Melt in the Sun (another song on the upcoming record).

This song was originally meant to be solely recorded with my psychedelic electric side project as a rock and roll party anthem. We were not planning to record it on this bluegrass album, but bassist and dobro player Jeff Partin told us it was his favorite tune from the enormous list of songs I played for him and the producer, and that made me want to add it at the last minute.

I’m glad we did because it really has that Mountain Heart newgrass drive to it, but juxtaposed with booty-shaking club dancing lyrics.”

He tracked with a killer band, including himself on guitar and lead vocal, Jason Davis on banjo, Aaron Ramsey on mandolin, Jim VanCleve on fiddle, Kyser George on guitar, and Partin on bass and reso-guitar. Brooks Forsyth and Nick Goad sang harmony.

See if you don’t agree that it makes a fine bluegrass number.