Anyone who had been following the bluegrass scene in Nashville would be excused for asking, “What ever happened to Troy Engle?”
For 12 years he was a prime sideman in Music City, helping out bluegrass and country acts on most any instrument you could imagine, and ably singing any part required. He did time with Larry Sparks, Patty Loveless, Buddy Jewell, The Isaacs, Eric Church, and Leon Russell, and worked in the studio with even more. Troy also wrote quite a bit with Tom T and Dixie Hall, resulting in a couple of co-writes reaching #1 in bluegrass, and several instrumentals being picked up for use on TV.
In 2015, Engle gave up the glamour of Nashville to move back to his home town in southern Pennsylvania with his wife and family, but he hasn’t turned his back on the music. Troy has put together a band he calls Southern Skies, and has a solo project with the same name. And we do mean solo. He plays all the instruments, sings all the parts, and wrote all the songs! It’s a risky proposition, but not so much with Troy’s skill and experience. The tracks are as smoothly and expertly recorded as if he had used a crack studio band.
The title cut is the album’s first single, and it makes clear that this talented picker has what it takes.
Though Troy goes it alone on the album, he has a touring group made up of other professional musicians. His wife, Mandy Engle, is on bass, with Justin Carbone on guitar, Jenny Pickel on fiddle, and Mike Brubaker on banjo. Troy plays mandolin and fronts the band, sharing lead singing duties with Jenny.
The single and the full album are available now from popular download sites. Radio programmers can get the tracks at AirPlay Direct.
