Today, Tennessee Bluegrass Band debuts their first single, Nolichucky, with their new band configuration. Lincoln Hensley, banjoist, and Tim Laughlin, mandolinist, welcomed three new members into the fold in the summer of 2024. Young North Carolina bluegrass brothers, Jacob and Josiah Sheffield, on guitar and bass respectively, and veteran fiddler, Mike Feagan, who has performed professionally for over 40 years with heavy hitters like Bill Monroe and Larry Sparks, prove their strengths on this first recording together.
Hensley shared, “This is our first single release for our forthcoming album on Flagpond Records.”
Recorded, mixed, and mastered at Eastwood Studios in Cana VA by Wesley Easter, and produced by Hensley and Laughlin, the tragic tune features: Jacob Sheffield on lead Vocal and guitar, Josiah Sheffield on bass and baritone vocal, Tim Laughlin on mandolin and low tenor vocal, Michael Feagan on fiddle, and Lincoln Hensley on banjo. The song, though 50 years old, is very timely for Hensley who saw his beloved east Tennessee mountains ravaged by raging flood waters last September.
The young banjoist explained…
“[It was] written by Leon Kiser in 1975, originally as a fictional song about the Nolichucky River flooding our town, and claiming the lives of the people involved here in the song. Sadly, almost exactly 50 years later, it’s a true story now, with the devastation that rains of Hurricane Helene brought on our town by making the Nolichucky River rise 30 feet from its normal depth, and flooding our town. It claimed the lives of six people here in our town, washed out several bridges, and swept away many homes and much property.
Leon Kiser was sort of a local legend around here. He had a band called Leon Kiser & the Holston Mountain Boys. They recorded this song in 1975 with a much different feel. We were pitched this song by Charlie Powers, the guitarist on the original record, after the floods. He thought it might be a great song to fit us while also bringing awareness to the destruction that happened to our little town.”
It does just that. The listener is sure to think the song was inspired by the unlikeliness of a hurricane hitting the East Tennessee mountains, and the destruction that it caused last fall.
Nolichucky features the strong voice of the destined-to-be star, 18-year-old Jake Sheffield belting out a soulful high lead that immediately draws the listener into the tragic story line. Joined by his 20 year old brother, Joe, and Laughlin, the harmonies are tight and polished. Instrumentally, the accompaniment is spot on to make the tune complete. Hensley nails the kickoff rolling smoothly into a minor chord that sets the mood for the somber song.
“The waters, they were raging. The rain was pouring down. The bridge fell beneath our feet and left us there to drown,” are the opening lines. Then the chorus begs the river, “Nolichucky, why don’t you open up your heart and give her back to me?”
As time passes and media coverage fades, it is easy to forget about the horrible impact that Hurricane Helene had on Hensley’s hometown and surrounding regions. Lives lost, homes destroyed, businesses closed, the landscape and lives of these mountain folks will be forever changed, and this song reminds us of that. It comes at a time when we all need to remember, reflect, and still reach out to help those impacted.
Tennessee Bluegrass Band has hit a home run with this touching tune. It is strong lyrically, vocally, and instrumentally. If this is the appetizer, I can’t wait for the main course, their upcoming album with Flagpond Records.
