Having just celebrated his 80th birthday, bluegrass music’s Energizer Bunny, Little Roy Lewis, shows absolutely no signs of slowing down, as evidenced by today’s announcement that his touring act with Lizzy Long, The Little Roy & Lizzy Show, has just signed with Mountain Home Music Company.
Roy is, of course, a scion of the fabled Lewis Family, started by his mother and father in 1951, who are now members of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. Known widely as the First Family of Bluegrass Gospel, they toured for years with Roy and his three sisters, and eventually their children and grandchildren. The Lewis Family retired in 2009 after nearly 60 years in the business, though Jeff & Sheri Easter, family and Lewis band veterans, still carry the torch.
He and Long have a newly-recorded album set for release next month, Welcome To The Show, their first since before the pandemic hit. It was all cut in the studio with their touring group, Sally Sandker on guitar, Matthew Songmaker on mandolin, and Holger Oleson on bass. Roy plays banjo, guitar, autoharp and sings, with Lizzy on fiddle, guitar, and lead vocals.
A debut single is available, which features guest piano by noted Gospel and Christian artist Gordon Mote, Roy and Lizzy’s version of God’s Been Good.
Lewis says that the new single is right up his alley.
“This is a great song that really lets me pick my style of guitar on the beginning. I’m also a Pig Robbins piano loving fan of Gordon Mote, who really sealed the deal with his playing on it.”
Check it out…
Lizzy says that she and Roy couldn’t be happier with how the record has turned out.
“We are so proud of this whole album. It’s the first time we legitimately got in a studio with our whole band ONLY. Then to have Gordon Mote guest playing the piano is just a treat. Two days…and we were done. The songs really feature everybody so well, and they’re so fun, have so much feeling, and really go well with today. We hope you love it as much as we did making it!”
The single, God’s Been Good, is available now from popular download and streaming services online. Pre-orders and pre-saves for the Welcome To The Show album are also enabled online, set for delivery on April 29.
