Curt Love of Oakboro, NC has been named as the new bass player for Junior Sisk. He comes highly recommended by a group of loyal fans in the central part of the state, who have been following this young man’s music with great interest. They tell us to keep our eyes on Curt, that he has something special to offer to the bluegrass world.
Junior had been on a tear heading into the shutdowns earlier this year, riding high with his latest album, and a powerful touring band supplemented by the addition of Heather and Tony Mabe to the group last year. This has given Sisk a compelling vocal trio, and a second lead singing voice in the show to take some of the load off him. The multi-talented Jonathan Dillon remains on mandolin with Doug Bartlett on fiddle, so Curt is joining up with a mighty strong ensemble.
For Sisk, it only took a few minutes to decide on bringing Love into the band.
“I knew Curt as a banjo player, but when he played the first song with us on bass, we knew he was our bass man. We all looked at each other and said WOW!! He knew our material very well and was ready to show us! Looking forward to hitting the road with him this summer!”
Curt was bitten by the bluegrass bug at a very early age, with his family reporting that he fell in love with the music after attending a IIIrd Tyme Out concert when he was three years old. Since that point, it has been bluegrass all the way. As a youngster learning to play, he was fortunate to meet up with former Blue Grass Boy, Bill Simpson, who served as his musical mentor for many years. North Carolina pickers Gary and Sandy Hatley then took him under their wing and brought him to festivals every summer, and watched him grow into a fine young man and a strong bluegrass performer.
Curt says that joining up with Junior feels like a dream come true.
“I’ve been a fan of Junior Sisk’s music from the first time I heard his band play, but I never would’ve thought I’d get the chance to play with him. I’m excited to be a part of his newest configuration and I can’t wait to start picking and traveling with all of them!”
Junior is looking forward to getting back on stage later this month at the Midsummer Bluegrass Festival in Wisconsin. You can follow his tour dates online.
