Drew Matulich, Jeremy Darrow, Roland White, Ty Gilpin, Jon Weisberger, Gina Clowes,
Casey Campbell, and Scott Barnett, in the Crossroads studio (May 2018)
Roland White has been active in bluegrass on a professional level since the early 1960s, starting with his brothers Clarence and Eric as The Country Boys while they were just teens. Between then and now he had found himself on stage with icons like Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt, and alongside fellow hall-of-famers in seminal acts like Kentucky Colonels, Country Gazette, and Nashville Bluegrass Band.
A natural mandolinist, Roland also plays the guitar and sings, and a discography finds him featured with a who’s who of important and influential artists, from Ry Cooder and Doc Watson, to Marty Stuart and Ricky Skaggs.
Inducted into the IBMA Hall of Fame in 2017, one year after his brother Clarence, Roland remains active in the music, though not as aggressively as in years past. At 80 years old he’s still nimble and quick-witted, and it seems there’s still plenty of music in him.
With that in mind, he has signed with Mountain Home Music Company to produce a project celebrating the rich musical legacy that is Roland White. Ty Gilpin and Jon Weisberger will produce, with assistance from some of the brightest lights in today’s bluegrass scene. On board so far with more likely to be added are David Grier, Kristin Scott Benson, Jon Stickley, Brooke Aldridge, Darin Aldridge, Lindsay Lou, Kimber Ludiker, Aaron Bibelhauser, Gina Clowes, Jon Weisberger, Drew Matulich, Josh Haddix, Lyndsay Pruett, Jeremy Darrow, Nick Dauphinais, and Darren Nicholson.
Guitarist Jon Stickley says of working with White on this recording…
“Among the annals of bluegrass legends, Roland White is in a class of his own. As a pioneer of California Bluegrass, turned Blue Grass Boy turned Grammy-winning contemporary bluegrass artist, he is a living link between old and new. At 80, his playing is still fun, fresh and youthful. Working with him on this project is one of the highlights of my career to date!”
The album is being recorded now with an eye towards a fall 2018 release.
If anyone deserves a project like this, Roland is surely on that list.
