Guitarist and vocalist Rebecca Frazier is an artist that does things in her own time. The fact that her most recent album, Boarding Windows in Paradise, was released two years ago on Compass Records, didn’t mean she couldn’t release a music video now, at the end of summer 2026.
Like everything she does, creating videos require careful attention to detail, and if it takes time to get it right, that’s exactly what she does.
That same independent spirit told Frazier that there’s no reason why she shouldn’t record a pop mega-hit from 40 years ago, placing it into a bluegrass style, with some of the top pickers in the business. And so we have her cut of Borderline, which owned the charts back in 1984, reimagined for a bluegrass setting.
Rebecca says of this recording…
“I remember hearing this song on the car radio when I was a little kid. Madonna made a huge impression on me and lots of young girls; she was as a symbol of self-power. As an adult, I revisited the song and realized how beautiful the composition is. I love the interplay with the melody and harmony, and the chord changes speak to me.”
To cut the track she called on Love Canon, a string band from Charlottesville, VA who had made a name for themselves converting pop and rock numbers into bluegrass songs. Who better?
“I’ve been a Love Canon fan for a decade now, and I was thrilled when they agreed to cut this song with me. It was a thrill to hash out arrangement ideas with them, and I brought in some flatpicking ideas for an instrumental solo section. Stuart Duncan’s captivating fiddling on the track adds to the dance feel of the song. And Shelby Means, Adam Chaffins, and Andrea Zonn are incredibly soulful in their harmony vocals. I love how all of these pieces came together on this track.”
For the video, shot and edited by Christopher Gunn, we see waterfall imagery from Fall Creek Falls in Tennessee, a dramatic backdrop for Rebecca’s acoustic bluegrass interpretation of Borderline, which speaks of love taken to the edge.
Have a look and listen to what they put together.
The audio track features Rebecca on guitar and lead vocal, Jay Starling on reso-guitar, Adam Larabee on banjo, Andy Thacker on mandolin, Jesse Harper on guitar, Darrell Muller on bass, and Stuart Duncan on fiddle.
The instrumental interlude in the middle is a composition of Rebecca’s, which, of course, she calls Borderline Reel.
Borderline, and the full Boarding Windows in Paradise album, are available from popular download and streaming services online. It is also available on a variety of formats from the Compass Records web site.
