Orphan Girl video from The Roots Revival

Surely one of the most interesting new groups to emerge this year is Northern Ireland’s The Roots Revival, who blend many of the traditions of bluegrass with their own rich and varied folk music culture.

The band combines the members of Cup O’Joe, Benjamin, Reuben, and Tabitha Agnew, with fiddler Niall Murphy and percussionist Eamon Rooney.

We posted their debut video last month, a set of tunes that paired an original of theirs called Imagination with the old favorite, Temperance Reel.

This weekend they dropped another, their arrangement of Gillian Welch’s lovely Orphan Girl featuring Tabitha on lead vocals. This was the song that introduced Welch to the attention of a wide audience on her first album back in 1996. It perfectly suits Tabitha as well, and the instrumental virtuosity of The Roots Revival.

You can learn more about the band at their Facebook page.

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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.