Barefoot Movement is one of those young groups proliferating in today’s scene which bear substantial physical resemblance to a bluegrass band, but who use the familiar instruments to interpret original and contemporary music which is only partially influenced by Bill Monroe, Lester & Earl, or Carter & Ralph.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. In fact, it strikes me as a great thing anytime young artists want to use mandolins and fiddles to express their musical visions. A string band beats a garage rock band any day, as far as I’m concerned, and these folks have bluegrass papers.
They have been performing together for the past four years, with Noah Wall on fiddle and lead vocals, Tommy Norris on mandolin, Quentin Acres on guitar, and Hasee Ciaccio on bass. They got their start when Noah and Quentin were enrolled in the Bluegrass, Old Time & Country Music program at East Tennessee State University. Wall brought her high school pal Norris into the mix, and they found Ciaccio when she asked for a ride back to ETSU from MerleFest a few years ago.
With a new album, Figures Of The Year, just released, Barefoot Movement has released a number of videos to tease the new tunes.
Chasing Shadows is probably the grassiest of the three, though the band performs sans banjo.
Second Time Around also finds the youthful quartet in a live, outdoor setting.
And this third, for No Rain, is more of a promo.
You can keep an eye on Barefoot Movement on their web site or Facebook page. Figures Of The Year can be purchased from their site, and from most popular download portals.
