Rebel Records has news this week about their sophomore effort from Mark Kuykendall, Bobby Hicks & Asheville Bluegrass, a vigorously traditional bluegrass outfit from western North Carolina that boasts contributions from a pair of highly seasoned veterans of the music.
Fiddler Bobby Hicks has performed with nearly everyone who matters in bluegrass over his 60 plus year career, including stints with Bill Monroe and Ricky Skaggs. His stability and durability found him recording classic Monroe tracks like Big Mon and Wheel Hoss in the mid-’60s, and Skaggs’ Highway 40 Blues in the ’80s. These days, Hicks enjoys the rural life near Asheville and performs with Kuykendall.
Mark has similarly been through a genuine apprenticeship, doing time on guitar with both Bill Monroe and Jimmy Martin, and playing with Raymond Fairchild before he was 10 years old. He has stuck close to bluegrass through his life, and has put a fine band together with Bobby that recreates the smooth, classic bluegrass sound they both grew up hearing and playing.
The new Rebel project, Forever And A Day, is due to drop on July 7 and anyone who places a pre-order before the release date will receive an instant download of the debut single, a bouncy new song called I Don’t Have the Want To Anymore, which Mark wrote and sings in his distinctive tenor voice.
Here’s a taste…
Joining Mark and Bobby are Seth Rhinehart on banjo, Mike Hunter on mandolin, and Nick Dauphinais on bass.
Forever And A Day consists primarily of under-recorded bluegrass gems with a few current numbers included. Favorites like Roust-a-bout and We Live in Two Different Worlds made the cut, as well as the Jim Eanes’ In His Arms I’m Not Afraid and Bill Monroe’s Wicked Path of Sin.
The album (and the instant download of the single) can be ordered now from all the popular digital download sites. Radio programmers can get the single now from Airplay Direct.
