Mountain Fever Records has a new single for Nashville singer and songwriter Theo MacMillan, who is becoming one of bluegrass music’s most discussed young writers.
If the name is familiar, you may recall Theo’s work with his banjo playing sister, Brenna MacMillan, as Theo & Brenna. Both siblings are currently working on solo projects just now, and we’ll have something from Brenna soon as well.
Theo’s songs have been recorded of late by Amanda Cook, East Nash Grass, Jaylee Roberts, Carley Arrowood, and, of course, Theo & Brenna. With a basis in bluegrass, they tend to be quite thoughtful and, for some reason, really appeal to female vocalists.
But he’s a fine singer himself, as you can hear in The One That’s Broken, this latest from Mountain Fever, which finds the narrator realizing that he’s not the issue in his troubled relationship.
As MacMillan basically says, “It’s not me, it’s you.”
“Sometimes it’s so hard to look in the mirror. If you’ve ever sat listening to that one person tell you that the problem between the two of you is all your fault, but you know so deeply that it’s really the other way around, you’ll relate to this song.”
Studio help comes from several members of East Nash Grass (Cory Walker on banjo, Gaven Largent on reso-guitar, Harry Clark on mandolin), with Jed Clark on guitar, Julian Pinelli on fiddle, and P.J. George on bass.
Theo had suggested earlier that the material on his next album would go beyond bluegrass, but this one is plenty grassy, though in a current, newgrassy style.
Check it out…
The One’s That’s Broken is available now from popular download and streaming services online, and to radio programmers via AirPlay Direct.
