Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road have released a new single, the title track of their just-released album with Pinecastle Records, Yellow Line. Purcell has reformed his group as he prepares to graduate from the Berklee College of music, and this new project is our first look at the current outfit.
With Liam on mandolin and lead vocal, Cane Mill Road is Rob McCormac on guitar, Colton Kerchner on banjo, Ella Jordan on fiddle, and Jacob Smith on bass.
Yellow Line, the single, is one Purcell wrote, which, as you may surmise from the title, is about a journey on the road, one the author hopes is taking him to something bigger and better.
This latest, Homesick for Virginia, might surprise some of the band’s longtime fans. Known from the start as a envelope-pushing new grass act, the song is as traditional a bluegrass number as you could want, in a lonesome waltz time.
Purcell, who sings lead and plays mandolin, says of this one…
“This song (penned by Colton Kerchner) is a story of misadventure and longing for home. Though the song is straightforward and wrapped in a 3/4 bluegrass power waltz, I felt like a lot of folks could relate to the message behind it. Being young 20-something musicians out there on the road, home is always on our minds, along with our friends and family who we frequently miss. This is one of the more traditional tunes on the album, and I thought the guys really knocked it out of the park with the feel of that old Stanley-inspired sound.”
Songwriter Kerchner plays banjo, Ron McCormac is on guitar, Jacob Smith on bass, and Ella Jordan on fiddle.
Pinecastle Records has announced this morning the signing of the young bluegrass band, Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road, to the label. The band is currently completing work on a new project for Pinecastle which they plan to release sometime next year.
Purcell started this group during his early teens in his native North Carolina, and has kept Cane Mill Road touring and recording while he finishes his degree the Berklee College of Music in Boston. A talented multi-instrumentalist, he plays mandolin and sings with the band, accompanied by Rob McCormac on guitar, Jason Smith on bass, Kolton Kerchner on banjo, and Ella Jordan on fiddle.
Thankful to work with an established label after a number of independent projects, Liam says that he and the band are pleased to call themselves Pinecastle artists.
“I am thrilled to be working with the folks at Pinecastle. We spent a long time writing and arranging this new music and are almost ready to put it out for the world to hear. It is an incredible opportunity to work with a label like Pinecastle and I’m thankful for their support and work towards making this project happen.”
The most recent Cane Mill Road release is a single, Crooked As You Go, which will be included on the Pinecastle album.
Pinecastle CEO Ethan Burkhardt is likewise delighted to welcome them onto the roster.
“We’re very excited to have Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road on our roster, and looking forward to introducing fans to the future of the genre. They have already gained a great amount of respect from the industry and the future is looking very bright.”
Bluegrass fans remember Liam when he first appeared as the teen leader of a very young Cane Mill Road several years ago. They wowed at World of Bluegrass as a showcase artist, and were named as Momentum Band of the Year in 2019. Then came college, and the various members of the group went their separate ways.
But Liam never stopped working on his music, something he demonstrated last summer when he traveled from his home in North Carolina to Lyons, CO for the RockyGrass festival, where he took first place in their banjo, guitar, and mandolin competitions.
Cane Mill Road is now reformed, with a far more mature sound. They spent most of this past winter writing and recording new music for this next album. With Purcell on mandolin, the band also features Jacob Smith on bass, Sam Stage on fiddle, Colton Kerchner on banjo, and Rob McCormac on guitar.
Liam shared a few words about the single, Uncle Lloyd, which looks at the pains of adulthood from the perspective of someone much younger.
“The song was written by Darrell Scott, and paints a picture of a somewhat familiar character for many of us. A man who is rebuilding his life and is down on his luck, seen through the eyes of a teenager. The melody is catchy while the progression uses about every chord in the books.
We really loved the down-to-earth writing, and felt like the story was something folks could relate to. Colton Kerchner takes a banjo part that sounds like a pedal steel at times, while Sam Stage’s lonesome fiddle accents the storytelling. The song is also in a different groove than a lot of our other tunes, with Rob and Jacob holding down the beat.”
It’s hard to believe that this is the same singer we heard four years ago. Have a listen…
Uncle Lloyd from Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road is available now from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers will find the track at AirPlay Direct.
Well… let’s be a bit more specific. Roots is the name of the new band project, but it wasn’t exactly recorded with the touring edition of the group. Given the pandemic shutdowns last year, Liam went ahead and tracked the album by himself, playing and singing all the parts all by his lonesome.
Today’s single is titled Down The Hill, one which Purcell wrote with Si Kahn of folk music fame.
“Down the Hill was a co-write with my dear friend and mentor Si Kahn. We had a good co-writing session in Charlotte, NC last year, and this was one of the songs that came out of it. I’ve never been able to just sit down and start writing songs or come up with ideas, I usually rely on inspiration. But Si really broke that barrier and we started by sitting and talking about the place I grew up, and some of the characters we both knew who would make a good song! After we wrote the lyrics, I went in search of a melody and progression for this song. I drew on some of my favorite hard-driving bluegrass songs to really tie this one together – but threw in some unusual chords in the chorus to give it a new flavor!”
The song plays on the theme of the mansion on the hill, inhabited by rich folks, while those living lower down tend to be of more straitened means.
Kahn sees great things ahead for young Mr. Purcell, who has just released his fourth album while still in college.
“I love writing songs with Liam Purcell, which we’ve been doing since I was 76 and he was 17. It’s not just Liam’s instrumental brilliance, his thoughtfulness and way with words, but his roots.
Roots is in fact the name of this fourth album from Liam Purcell and Cane Mill Road. Liam grew up in Deep Gap, North Carolina, home of bluegrass music legends Doc, Rosa Lee, and Merle Watson.
Liam grew up surrounded by that mist and memory. It’s in his blood, it’s in his bones — and it sure as hell is in his music. Merle, Rosa Lee, and Doc would be more than proud.”
Have a listen…
Down The Hill and the full album, Roots, are available wherever you stream or download music online. The CD can be purchased directly from the Cane Mill Road web site.
Radio programmers can get the single now from AirPlay Direct.
Young Liam Purcell is one busy young man. Studying music remotely at the Berklee College of Music from his North Carolina home, he has managed to also record a new album, all by himself, from his home studio. With bandmates unable to come in for tracking because of shutdown orders earlier this year, Liam played all the instruments and sang all the parts.
The result is Roots, from Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road. Liam founded this group with his friends Tray Wellington and Casey Lewis in 2014 when they were all young teens, and found tremendous success on both the critical and popular sides of the equation. The band toured extensively throughout the southeast, including major events like MerleFest, Grey Fox, and Floyd Fest, and were named IBMA Momentum Band of the Year in 2019.
But the various members went their separate ways to college last year, leaving Purcell on his own. But rather than give up what he had built over six years, he held on to the name, found new players, and looked ready to keep Cane Mill Road rolling. And then COVID-19 hit.
So he decided to knuckle down and record the next band project on his own, with a set of all original songs he had written. Two were co-writes – one with Casey Lewis, and the other with folk legend Si Kahn, who Liam says has been a great mentor to him. Once touring is allowed again, he and the band will be supporting the project on the road.
Roots was released last week, and we are happy to share the first single, the title track, with you here today. Liam is featured on mandolin, guitar, banjo, bass, fiddle, and vocals.
Roots is available now wherever you stream or download music online, or on CD directly from CaneMill Road. When you purchase the CD online, you receive a download of the album as well.
Radio programmers can get the single now from AirPlay Direct.
Purcell founded Cane Mill Road with two of his best friends when they were all in high school around Deep Gap, NC. They became a very popular touring act, but once the original members went off to college at different schools, it became impossible to keep the group on track. So Liam is keeping it going on his own, bringing in some strong new pickers, with himself out front on mandolin, fiddle, and lead vocal.
The single is for the title track, which Liam says he put together to please both his traditional and modern sides.
“Roots is an original song of mine. To me, it’s a song about the struggle to make a meaningful connection with someone while living the lifestyle that comes with being a professional musician. I came up with the first verse between classes one day, and wrote the rest from there. I really wanted to write the verses in a traditional bluegrass feel, but I knew I wanted something a bit different for the chorus. A lot of folks are doing a good job mixing up their stage show between traditional and modern songs. I wanted to do the same thing but within the song itself, section to section!
I decided to play and record every part on the album myself. I’ve always wanted to be known for more than just my playing on any one instrument. So I saw this as my opportunity to exceed expectations and try something new! The full album by the same name will be out in November!”
Have a listen…
Like every other musical act in the business, Cane Mill Road lost almost all their work for 2020, but Liam says that things look good for next year.
“We had been doing 100-120 shows a year the last few summers, but with everything going on we only played about 20 this year. Luckily almost everything was rescheduled for next year instead of cancelled, so our 2021 touring schedule will be back to normal, assuming the world can get a hold on this thing before then.
Even though I recorded everything on this album myself (partially due to the pandemic), I have an incredible group of folks playing with me these days. Rob McCormac has guitar duties, he’s a mind blowing musician and is somehow working on 2 masters degrees at once! Jacob Smith is our bassist. He grew up playing bluegrass with his family – his dad played banjo – and went on to study jazz and classical music in college. He’s also an incredible vocalist. Rounding out the group on banjo is Colton Kerchner. He moved to western North Carolina for school but quickly discovered the local bluegrass scene, and made himself an integral part of it. He’s studied banjo for years, and even learned from the great Tom Adams!
I’m in school at Berklee College of Music. Currently attending the Deep Gap remote campus, as I like to call it. But I will be in Boston during the school year whenever they allow us to return. The band is still going full steam ahead though. Berklee is great about working with you so you can keep touring while in school. So we’ll be on the road all summer long and weekends through the semester.”
You can pre-order the Roots album now online, with an expected release date of November 27. For $19.99 you get both a download of the tracks and a CD mailed to your home.
More information about Liam and Cane Mill Road can be found on their web site.
By now, most of you are aware of the devastating tornadoes that struck Nashville in the early hours of this morning. As of this writing, 25 people are confirmed dead across four counties in the region, and police and emergency personnel are continuing to search among the rubble of homes and businesses that were leveled by the storm.
With the large concentration of music industry people in the area, it is remarkable that no one in our bluegrass community seems to have suffered any real damage. The city’s bluegrass hub, The Station Inn, survived the damaging winds, and is open tonight as usual, though the early Doyle & Debbie Show has been cancelled.
Station Inn management has announced that both tonight’s show by Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road, and tomorrow’s with David Starr and Irene Kelley, have been converted to fundraisers to assist those displaced by the tornado. Both acts have agreed to donate their fees from the shows to Hands On Nashville, a volunteer-based organization dedicated to serving the local community. HON were used as a central portal for donations after the flooding that occurred in 2010, and are ready to do the same following the storms.
Nashville-area readers are encouraged to stop in to The Station Inn to hear some music, see some friends, and contribute to the relief effort.
Hands On Nashville is also accepting direct donations for tornado assistance, and has a sign-up form for those who would like to volunteer. Needless to say, all financial contributions are welcome, and the need for volunteers is high.
Tonight’s show will be live-streamed online at Station Inn TV.
Just as family bluegrass groups are often pulled apart by the stresses that develop as the child members grow into young adults, so are bands formed by youngsters pickers also riven by the various members heading off to college and the like.
This has happened with Cane Mill Road, established in western North Carolina in 2014 by three teen pickers who got together for the love of the music. With Liam Purcell on mandolin and fiddle, Trey Wellington on banjo, and Casey Lewis on guitar, they found tremendous early success, touring extensively in the US and internationally, receiving multiple IBMA Momentum Award nominations, being named Momentum Band of the Year for 2019, and releasing three successful albums.
Now the pressures of distance and school have brought their collaboration to an end. But fear not! Purcell is retaining the band name and will continue to tour and record as Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road. Trey and Casey will be focusing on other interests, and Liam will bring on a variety of sidemen from a rotating cast of picker friends.
“All the folks joining me on stage in this new era are high-caliber, experienced musicians that I have been dying to play on stage with for a long time. I am fortunate to live in Deep Gap, NC, a region full of talented musicians. I look forward to introducing you to these new faces on the road this year!
I will miss longtime band members Casey Lewis and Tray Wellington who left in December to focus on new projects: Casey returning to school full-time and recording a solo-album with Tin Roof Records; Tray recording his first EP, an exciting project with banjo legend Scott Vestal as producer.”
He says that he will fulfill all existing bookings as Cane Mill Road, performing the material they have recorded, in the high-energy style that has become their norm. New bookings are being accepted under the new name, and Purcell anticipates releasing a new studio album later this year.
Grateful for the backing and encouragement of their fan base, Liam asks that they follow him on his new journey.
“Thank you all for supporting Cane Mill Road over the past six years, and I hope to earn your continued support as we venture forward as Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road.”
Keep up with Liam and the band online, and via their socials.
