Curb Records has a new single today for Pitney Meyer, the bluegrass act built around country and bluegrass sensation Mo Pitney and his fellow singer/songwriter and banjo player John Meyer.
The two friends met in the bluegrass world, and have spent the past several years writing music together. At first they did it just because they enjoyed it, but as time went on, they realized they had an album’s worth of strong material. So Mo reached out to Curb Records, with whom he has a country music recording contract, to see if they would be interested in getting behind it.
They jumped on board, so John and Mo assembled a band and started recording, live to tape, capturing the actual sessions on video as well. It’s a nice change of pace at a time when so much music is being recorded with some of the players never meeting face to face. Pitney Meyer tracked to analog tape in a 19th century hand built log cabin in Bon Aqua, TN, and we can see one of the results today with the release of Old Friend.
It’s a song the two good friends wrote together with Wyatt McCubbin, about a lifelong friendship that means the world to both parties. Though it may not have started out that way, the song perfectly captures the close relationship that John and Mo have shared together. But not to worry… their wives are both cool with it.
Pitney says that recording this project together is an ideal reflection of their deep affection for each other.
“I think the only way I could share with people how much John’s friendship means to me, is to make this record. I really believe that there’s people that live and die that have never had a friend. I just really feel honored to say that I have a friend.”
With Mo on guitar and lead vocal, and John on banjo and singing harmony, the track also feature Ivy Phillips on fiddle, Nate Burie on mandolin, and Blake Pitney on bass.
Old Friend is a lovely slow ballad, sung impeccably by Pitney and Meyer, with just the right sort of sparse accompaniment. It’s a perfect fit for bluegrass radio, and the sort of song that traditional country fans dream of hearing on the air again.
Have a look and listen…
Old Friend is available now to popular download and streaming services online, and to radio programmers via AirPlay Direct.
