North Carolina teen grassers Cane Mill Road have released a new single, a live version of the fiddle favorite, Blackberry Blossom, which morphs into a raucous run through David Grisman’s E.M.D. So, of course, they title the new track, Dawgberry Blossom.
It is also included on the band’s upcoming live album, Let’s All Do Some Living, set for release at the end of this month. All the tracks were recorded at Saloon Studios in Ashe County, NC before a live audience.
Fiddler and mandolinist Liam Purcell, tells us that Dawgberry Blossom is meant as a tribute to their two favorite pickers, Doc Watson and David Grisman. Oldsters like myself might see those two as being from very different eras, but to the 21 and under crowd, they both look like vintage music. But the Watson family was special for Purcell, who grew up in Doc’s home town of Deep Gap.
“Merle died before we were born, but we heard Doc play Blackberry Blossom live, so we played it too, and the rest of his music. Growing up emulating Doc, we eventually discovered contemporary artists like David ‘Dawg’ Grisman who began to shape our playing. We now have our own sound, but in this first single from our upcoming live album, we honor our past, while looking to the future.
We start the tune in the old fiddle/banjo tradition of our Blue Ridge Mountain home in Deep Gap, then we transition into our favorite Grisman tune, E.M.D. We hope listeners enjoy a new twist from Deep Gap on a couple of iconic tunes that still mean so much to us.”
Cane Mill Road is Tray Wellington on banjo, Casey Lewis on guitar, Hudson Bosworth on bass, and Purcell – only 17 years old – on mandolin and fiddle. They are a fully independent outfit, working without a label or management, doing it on their own. They raised the money to record and press Let’s All Do Some Living through a self-directed crowdfunding campaign.
Dawgberry Blossom is available now wherever you stream or download music online. Pre-orders for the live CD are available online.
