Ashley Lewis, who in addition to being an independent bluegrass artist, singer, and songwriter is also our Executive Marketing Manager here at Bluegrass Today, has released a music video for a song she recorded back in 2014, using the digital video skills she has acquired over recent years working with our clients.
It’s a powerful song she wrote about the Civil War-era for which she feels a special fondness called Blockade Runner. It’s written about the Cataloochee Valley in far-western North Carolina, and the men who “deserted” from the regular Confederate Army in the waning days of the war in 1865 to defend their homes and families from the ravages being delivered by Kirk’s Raiders, a cavalry unit under the command of Colonel George W. Kirk.
These men who left their posts knew that Kirk’s Raiders were fellow North Carolinians from these same mountains, and only a defense by other locals could be effective against them. So they returned home to try and provide it.
It was a difficult choice for the Confederate men of Cataloochee Valley, leaving their posts, as many surely knew that the war they were fighting was lost by the spring of 1865. This defense of their home valley was the very brother-against-brother, father-against-son sort of warfare that is remembered from that time. The men could find themselves protecting their family farm from bands of raiders in the morning, and running from Confederate patrols trying to capture and hang them later that night.
Ashley’s song commemorates these men, and the region that figured so prominently in her upbringing. It stands among the wealth of art and music that still resonates from that time 160 years ago, in people removed by both time and place.
Lewis says that the song came to her while thinking about the Cataloochee Valley, and the people who lived out the drama contained within it.
“I’ve loved this valley all my life. I spent my summers running around these hills. Its history — a beautiful, timeless refuge from the world. It’s what echoes when the wars around us fall silent, and all that’s left is the sound of home.”
Blockade Runner didn’t received attention from radio when it was released owing to its length, running more than five and a half minutes, so it should be new to all but Ashley’s most ardent fans. With Lewis on mandolin and lead vocals, support is provided by Kent Wells on guitar, Sammy Shelor on banjo, producer Jimmy Mattingly on fiddle, Andy Hall on reso-guitar, and Dennis Crouch on bass. Carl Jackson sings the harmony vocals.
The video is the star here, however, created through Ashley’s diligence scripting every scene in advance, to effectively capture the desperate emotions felt on all sides.
Have a look/listen.
Blockade Runner is available from streaming and download purchase online.
