Crash Course In The Blues from Sideline

One thing you can say about Sideline, the band of veteran grassers from central North Carolina, is that from one recording to the next, they just keep getting better and better. What started as a special project band among a group of friends, all working with different touring acts, has become a headlining act of their own, with several successful albums in their wake.

Throughout, the core of the group has remained the same: Steve Dilling on banjo, Skip Cherryholmes on guitar, and Jason Moore on bass. As other members have moved on, they have continually brought in new players of higher and higher caliber, until reaching the level they demonstrate today. Now, with Troy Boone on mandolin, Bailey Coe on guitar, and Daniel Greeson on fiddle, they have a new record set to hit later this year, and a new single today to get the ball rolling.

They have chosen a guitar-driven arrangement of Crash Course In The Blues, a country chart hit from 1992 written by Steve Wariner, John Barlow Jarvis, and Don Cook.

Dilling said that he thought of this number not long ago when he was pondering on something fun for this next project.

“I had been searching a long time to find a song to feature Skip and Troy on the twin guitar work, and I remembered this great Steve Wariner song from many years ago. It’s bluesy and allows for the band to really spread out and jam. It has live energy in this recorded version, but it’s still tight and strong.”

Cherryholmes takes the lead vocal and Sideline turns in a rockin’ bluesy take on the song.

Crash Course In The Blues is available now from all the popular download and streaming services online, and to radio programmers via AirPlay Direct.

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.