We’ve written many times about husband-and-wife bluegrass duo Zoe & Cloyd, and how they created their unique band name by utilizing their two middle names. They perform original bluegrass music, much of it about their home region of western North Carolina.
But their newest single, set for release this Friday, explores another part of the US, and another time in this country, when western expansion was the order of the day for a good many folks living along the eastern seaboard. Titled Rivers and Rails, the song imagines how a young newlywed man could allow his wanderlust to lure him away from his Tennessee home, and eventually from his loving bride as well.
Written by John Cloyd Miller and Tim Stafford, it is set 150 years ago, shortly after the Civil War, and carries a warning to young women about men for whom adventure is more attractive than home life.
Miller says it hit home for him once the song was completed.
“The temptation to travel the rivers and rails is too much… As the father of a young lady myself, I couldn’t help having the song serve as a warning to be wary of no-good partners!”
With John on guitar and lead vocal, Rivers and Rails also features his own bride, Natalya Zoe Weinstein, on fiddle and harmony vocal, along with Bennett Sullivan on banjo, David Benedict on mandolin, and Kevin Kehrberg on bass.
We are delighted to premiere this track a few days before its April 17 release. Have a listen.
Rivers and Rails will be available on Friday from popular download and streaming services online, and to radio programmers via Get It Played.
