New from Huckleberry Records is their latest single for the bluegrass duo of Darren Beachley and Kyle Windbeck, East Tennessee, a tribute to a region of the country that has been home to a great many bluegrass artists and lovers.
The song was written by Henry Blane Cox and Thomas Dickens, and performed here by this somewhat unlikely duo, separated by a generation in age, but united by a passion for bluegrass music, and the experience to back it up.
Beachley has spent a long career on guitar and reso-guitar, plying his trade alongside legends like Bill Harrell and Doyle Lawson, as a member of The Country Gentlemen Show, and in bands of his own formation. Known as a top-level vocalist and instrumentalist, Darren is paired with Windbeck, who, though much younger, is also an experienced veteran in the bluegrass world. A guitarist and bassist, he has been a member of Sideline and Darin & Brooke Aldridge, and with Beachley in the Country Gentlemen Show. He is also a knowledgeable recording engineer, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Recording & Audio Arts from Shenandoah University.
East Tennessee is recorded as a ballad, a love song even, expressing the beauty of the land and the people of this part of the Volunteer State. Darren sings the lead and plays reso, with Kyle on guitar, mandolin, and bass. They are assisted by Scott Vestal on banjo and Stephen Burwell on fiddle, with Crystal Bittenger and Windbeck singing harmony.
It’s a lovely song that bluegrass lovers will find engaging and memorable, especially those who have spent time in the region.
Check it out.
East Tennessee is available now from popular download and streaming services online, and to radio programmers via Get It Played.
