Spotswood Rice video from Standard Crow Behavior

Standard Crow Behavior, from Dresden in Germany, has released a live video performance of one of the songs on their debut recording, Talking to Space.

Regular readers will recall a profile we did of the band last year in Lee Zimmerman’s Bluegrass Beyond Borders column, where we learned that the group is a trio consisting of two native Germans, Judith Beckedorf and Filip Sommer, and an ex-pat American, Steve Volz. They have been playing a mix of original music and contemporary bluegrass with a pop flourish since first getting together in 2018.

The video finds the Crows on stage at the Sound of Bronkow Festival in Dresden, performing a song called Spotswood Rice, based on a true story from the darkest part of America’s past.

Judith shared a bit about how the song was created.

“The song Spotswood Rice was written by our American band member Steve, who has been living in Dresden for almost eight years now. Spotswood Rice tells the real tale of an American slave who escaped during the Civil War, and attempted to secure his family’s freedom. Steve learned about this lesser-known historical figure during his studies, and wanted to capture the essence of Rice’s story to be shared.”

Talking to Space is available for purchase on CD and vinyl directly from the band, and for digital download from bandcamp. Two singles, Spotswood Rice and I Am Here, can be found in iTunes.

Beckedorf also shared that shows in central Europe are just starting to open up after COVID restrictions.

“Germany is slowly picking up speed vaccinating the population, but we are not ready for full tours yet. A lot of major tours still get postponed to the end of 2022. For us, that means that every now and then single events and quickly put together festivals trickle in for this summer. We really can’t wait to play a real tour again!”

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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.