This review of the latest project from The Petersens is a contribution from Matthew L. Todd.
The Petersens released their newest album, Live Sessions: Volume 07, on August 21. The album can best be described as an extraordinary journey through Americana music. Once again, this collection shows the versatility of the Petersens as musicians and arrangers of music, as they create and perform unique versions that include songs from every decade starting in the 1940s, right up to the 2020s.
The twelve-song collection includes Petersen covers of songs from Alabama, Tom Petty, Simon and Garfunkel, Blue Highway, Marty Robbins, Don Williams, The Postal Service, First Aid Kit, and their very own Katie Petersen. And it comprises a plethora of genres: country, folk rock, pop, Scottish folk, Swedish folk, synth pop, modern Christian, African American Gospel, western, and bluegrass. About the only genres the Petersens haven’t attempted, to the best of my knowledge, are rap, punk rock, and avant garde spiritual jazz.
The album was mixed by Randy Franz and Jason Chapman, audio mastered by Alex McCollough of True East Mastering, with album photography by Nathaniel Farnum, and artwork by the president of the Matt Petersen fan club, Luke Elfink.
The Petersen band features Emmett Franz on reso-guitar and vocals, Ellen Haygood on banjo and vocals, Julianne Petersen on mandolin and vocals, Katie Petersen on fiddle and vocals, Matt Petersen on guitar and vocals, and Karen “get it mama” Petersen on bass.
Six of the twelve songs on the album are collaborations. On two, The Boxer and Emmylou, the Petersens team up with Oslo, Norway’s Hayde Orchestra. Hayde plays a style of music dubbed “Norwegian Nordicana.” They are an internationally-touring seven-piece ensemble who are fronted by Rebekka Nilsson, winner of the 2022 IBMA Momentum “Vocalist of the Year” award. The duets between Emmett and Rebekka on The Boxer, and Julianne and Rebekka on Emmylou are nothing short of brilliant.
The Petersens are joined on Lay Down Beside Me and When God Dips His Pen of Love in My Heart by longtime collaborators, The Chapmans. In 2002 the IBMA named The Chapmans the Emerging Artist of the Year, and John Chapman was named Guitar Player of the Year by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass in America.
The final two collaborations are Mountain Music, with Branson’s the Haygoods, and Such Great Heights, with another local Ozark family band, Dawson Hollow. The duet between Ellen and Michael Haygood on Mountain Music leaves the listener longing to hear more duets from this couple in the future.
Other highlights of the album include the Petersen sister trio vocals on Tom Petty’s Wildflowers, Ellen’s masterful vocals on Lonesome Pine, the brilliant instrumental solos and harmonies throughout the album, and Julianne’s vocals on Caledonia, a song written by Dougie MacLean in 1977 on a beach in France when he was feeling homesick for Scotland.
This collection is a must-have for any fan of The Petersens, and a beautiful way to introduce yourself to the band and their music, if you’ve never heard them before. And if you’ve never seen The Petersens live, they play regularly at the Little Opry Theatre in Branson, and have many other road dates throughout the year. Their live show is essential for lovers of Americana.
