From Connecticut comes veteran bluegrass vocalist Amy Gallatin, with a new Christmas record to share this year.
Called simply ‘Tis The Season, it features a total of 20 selections, drawn mostly from less familiar contemporary Christmas and holiday songs. Not strictly a bluegrass project, Amy allows the songs to set the arrangements, taking support from several of New England’s top acoustic artists with her easy and comfortable voice out front.
Of note is that she recorded the entire album in socially-distanced isolation, with fellow artists contributing from wherever they may have been during the shutdowns imposed earlier this year. Assisting were her long time partner, Roger Williams, on reso-guitar, JD Williams on mandolin, Ray Legere on fiddle, Bob Dick on bass, and Dave Dick on banjo, along with several other of Amy’s many musical friends and collaborators.
She says that things came together in unexpected ways to make it possible to record together this year.
“I’ve wanted to make this album for a long long time, but there was always travel, performances, overseas tours, day jobs, hobbies… Now, in the sudden quietude that became our lives in 2020, a group of musicians came together, collaborating entirely remotely in unprecedented circumstances. Supporting one another, utilizing already-mainstream technology to create art. Most working musicians these days have their own studios—maybe just a few mics and some software—as tools for their profession. Now, in this strange and singular time, technology was our friend more than ever.”
Here’s a video Gallatin created for one of the tracks, a Will Maring song about a cowboy Christmas called Bucky’s Present.
‘Tis The Season is available now wherever you stream or download music online. CDs can be purchased directly from the artist.
