No one can question the bluegrass street cred of Dewey & Leslie Brown. Dewey served several years as fiddler with Dr. Ralph Stanley, and remained a Clinch Mountain Boy right up to the good Doctor’s passing. His wife Leslie is just as solid a traditionalist, singing and playing bass with her husband in their touring band, The Carolina Gentlemen.
After he retired as a Clinch Mountain Boy, Dewey and Leslie spent many months restoring The Liberty Showcase Theater, located in Liberty, North Carolina, not far from their home in Burlington. They had purchased the old building and following restoration, hosted concerts there on a regular basis until COVID restriction forced them to close down. But those shows will be returning soon, featuring top bluegrass and traditional country artists. The pair also manage two festivals in their home state, DeweyFest and GospelFest.
The Browns launched their own band around this same time, showcasing both Dewey and Leslie as featured vocalists. Their debut project, Under The Mountain, was released in 2018, and another is expected later this year from Bell Buckle Records..
The third single from that record is now available, Fountain of Memories, one that the Browns wrote together. It comes from a true story about Leslie’s family, coal miners in the mountains near Vansant, VA, and tells of how money and land can sever even tight family relationships over time.
Leslie sings lead and plays bass, with Dewey on fiddle and vocal, Kendall Gales on mandolin, Brandon Hinson on banjo, and Tim Spence on guitar.
Have a listen in this lyric video.
Fountain of Memories is available now to radio programmers at AirPlay Direct.
The full album, Jealousy, is due to hit on March 30.
