Mountain Home Music has a new single for Sideline, set for release this Friday, which involves something of a musical departure for the band.
It’s a new song written by Ronnie Bowman, Andy Buckner, Joel Shewmake, Just A Guy In A Bar, a country-style tearjerker with a twist. Sung by Sideline guitarist Skip Cherryholmes, this arrangement manages to maintain a bluegrass backbeat with an acoustic country sound, sans banjo.
Bass man Jason Moore tells us that he loved this one when he heard the demo, but wasn’t sure it was right for them from the start.
“When I think of Sideline, I think of hard driving, in your face music. When I first heard Just A Guy In A Bar, I knew it was a great song, but I didn’t know how we could make it into a Sideline song. After trying several different things with it, we decided on doing what we thought the song called for — as opposed to what the band would normally do — and it turned out better than I could have ever imagined.”
That’s a sentiment quickly echoed by Cherryholmes.
“When I heard this song I knew it would be an instant hit. The passion and emotion that this ‘Guy’ was lyrically portraying make this song exceptional. It was outside of Sideline’s comfort zone, but I had no doubts that we could make it something special, and I was very excited when I was selected to sing it. I’m so proud that we gave this song the time and attention it deserved to make it the best it could be.”
Have a listen…
In addition to Moore and Cherryholmes, Sideline is Steve Dilling on banjo (on guitar here), Jacob Greer on guitar, Jamie Harper on fiddle, and Zack Arnold on mandolin.
Just A Guy In A Bar is available now wherever you stream or download music online. Radio programmers can get the track via AirPlay Direct.
Sideline has a treat in store for their fans this weekend, when the band will offer a livestream concert on Saturday evening. It will be a full set of their music, new and old, streamed on the Sideline Facebook page, January 9 at 7:00 p.m. (EST).
There is no charge to watch, but the band is setting up donation links through PayPal, Square, and Venmo for those who are able to support the show with a small donation.
