Steve Martin and Alison Brown are back with another banjo-heavy song, recorded with a group of Nashville heavy hitters.
It’s one that tells the story of a touring musician’s life, 5 Days Out, 2 Days Back, which the banjo duo wrote together, sung by Tim O’Brien, who also plays mandolin on the track. He says that they get it just right.
“Alison Brown and Steve Martin compress a year of a touring musician’s life into a few minutes on their new single. Our protagonist finds a path between the conflicting pulls of family and the road, plus I sing it really good!”
Something about Steve Martin seems to pull the comedy out of our bluegrass heroes.
But Alison agrees with Tim’s final remark.
“Tim is one of the all-time greatest singers in bluegrass. From the first demo we recorded together, he brought the perfect energy and spin to it, drawing on his many years of touring to bring the story to life.”
Martin and Brown both play the five string, her with picks, him without, supported by Bryan Sutton on guitar, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, and Todd Phillips on bass.
Despite the melancholy the song describes, missing out on so much family life, it ends up being a cheerful song. See for yourself in this “shot on the bus” video featuring all the players from the studio cut.
5 Day Out, 2 Days Back is available now from popular download and streaming services online.
