Rebel Records has announced the signing of bluegrass supergroup, Band Of Ruhks, to the Charlottesville, VA-based label. A new project from the group, their second as a unit, is expected this fall.
Band Of Ruhks is a reunion of sorts, featuring four veteran grassers all of whom spent time as members of Virginia’s famed Lonesome River Band. Ronnie Bowman, Don Rigsby, and Kenny Smith played together in the band for several years in the late ’90s, while Brian Fesler had played banjo with LRB in an earlier iteration. When Don, Kenny, and Ronnie departed Lonesome River Band in the early aughts they each started solo careers, which they continue to pursue. But a desire to play and sing with each other again brought them back together in 2012 as The Rambling Rooks, and they released a self-titled album as Band Of Ruhks in 2015.
Fesler joined up in 2017 after a number of years away from the music business. Now the group is complete, so a second recording seemed to be the next likely step.
So in comes Rebel Records, with whom all the the Ruhks have worked in the past, either as members of LRB, or as solo artists.
Rebel President Mark Freeman says that he is as stoked about the reunion as any of the pickers.
“We are thrilled to be working once again with these outstanding musicians. We have always appreciated their individual contributions to the bluegrass world, and it now gives us great pleasure to work with them collectively!”
Since leaving LRB, Ronnie, Kenny, and Don has established themselves as dominant performers in the bluegrass world, with Ronnie gaining additional credibility as a songwriter, even penning songs for country acts that have made it to #1, and won industry awards. To say that there is great anticipation about this next record would surely be an understatement.
Look for Authentic from The Band Of Ruhks on Rebel Records sometime in the later part of 2019.
