Back in the ’90s, one of the busiest young bands in bluegrass was New Tradition, working as many as 200 shows each year. They debuted at SPBGMA in 1988, where they won the band competition, and signed a contract with Brentwood Music, a major player in the Gospel market.
Like most hard charging acts, a number of currently prominent bluegrass players spent some time in the group, like Aaron McDaris of Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, and Brandon Rickman of Lonesome River Band. But two stalwarts of the band during their hey day were Danny Roberts on mandolin and Daryl Mosely on bass. Daryl’s voice was at the center of the band sound, and he wrote many of the songs they recorded.
New Tradition called it quits in 2000, and Daryl went to work with The Osborne Brothers while Danny became a founding member of The Grascals. The two former bandmates have remained friends, and when Mosely decided he wanted to cut a solo project following his recent departure from The Farm Hands, Danny’s was the first name that came to mind.
“I knew the one person I wanted to help me with this was Danny Roberts. You can’t overstate his contributions in the studio. I’m really proud of the songs I wrote back in our New Tradition days, but their success was largely due to Danny’s incredible talent as both a musician and a producer. It’s always his desire to get songs as good as they can possibly be.”
Now that Danny has agreed to produce Daryl’s next album, work has begun on what has been a joyous reunion in the studio.
“It really was like picking up where we left off. It was relaxed and comfortable from the very first note. We brought in some of the top musicians in bluegrass to be a part of this record, and it has been the most creative and most fun recording experience I’ve had since our New Tradition days. To be creating music with Danny Roberts again is an enormous blessing.”
Roberts expects it to make quite a mark on bluegrass.
“I’m so excited to be a part of this. I really believe every song on this album could be a hit!”
Mosely is working with Pinecastle Records, and expects to see an early 2020 release for the as yet unnamed record.
You can keep up with news about the new project on Daryl’s web site.
