Josh Williams CD coming out on Rounder

When Pinecastle Records went down this time last year, we mourned most particularly for its impact on Josh Williams‘ excellent CD Down Home, which virtually disappeared after the label folded.

The record had been scheduled for release in February 2010, precisely when Pinecastle closed their doors. With no staff in place to promote or distribute the album, already manufactured and delivered to Pinecastle’s North Carolina offices, even Josh himself was unable to reliably obtain copies for sale at his shows.

The label was reborn as Pinecastle Music in August of 2010, and now Williams’ CD is set for a March 15 re-release on Rounder. For most bluegrass lovers this is essentially a brand new project, full to the brim with the energetic, fun-filled, contemporary bluegrass that has made Josh such a popular entertainer with his own group, The Josh Williams Band.

There are audio samples from all 12 tracks on the Rounder site, and here are a couple of videos that feature material from Down Home. First is Josh’s near-definitive version of the Jimmy Martin classic, The Last Song.

And here he is with his band, joined by Tony Rice, for Williams’ new cut of Blue Railroad Train, featuring Rice on guitar, at the 2010 IBMA Awards Show in Nashville.

The Josh Wiliams Band is Jason McKendree on banjo, Randy Barnes on bass, and Nick Keen on mandolin, with Josh on guitar and lead vocals.

This is a very strong album, start to finish. A big “thank you” to Rounder for rescuing this fine recording from obscurity!

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2004 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.