Long Journey Home from Earls Of Leicester

The tremendous success of The Earls Of Leicester, both at live appearances and with record sales, should put to bed the argument that traditional bluegrass is dying or dead. This group, a superstar tribute band featuring the music of Flatt & Scruggs, is among the hottest draws on the bluegrass circuit

Their first two hit albums caught the music world by surprise. I mean, who would think that a tribute project for a group that disbanded in the ’60s would still have an appeal in the market? But such is the power of Lester and Earl more than 50 years on.

Of course the star appeal of Jerry Douglas at the head of the group didn’t hurt, nor the strong contributions from Charlie Cushman on banjo, Shawn Camp on guitar and vocals, Johnny Warren on fiddle – following in the footsteps of his dad, Paul, who worked as a Foggy Mountain Boy – and Barry Bales on bass. Jeff White is now with them on mandolin and tenor vocals, and they show up on stage with the hats and string ties just like the old days.

For their next project, the band decided to record live, capturing their energy before an audience at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Nashville earlier this year. Both parts of a two-night set were recorded, resulting in Live at the CMA Theater, a 23-song album with 14 cuts not previously released from the Earls, all drawn from the rich catalog of Flatt & Scruggs.

It’s not available until September 28, but the guys have dropped this static video with the audio for a rip-roaring’ number, Long Journey Home.

Pre-orders are available now from all your favorite download sites, and from the band’s web site on CD or vinyl. All pre-orders from the band store placed before September 14 will be personally autographed by the Earls.

They are touring now in support of the new project. Check their schedule online.

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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 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.