Track Premiere: Working Hard Ain’t Hardly Working Anymore from Jason Davis

We have, quite literally, watched Jason Davis grow up in bluegrass music. At 14 he was touring with Michelle Nixon & Drive, turning heads everywhere they played with his powerful contemporary banjo playing, especially given his age. From there he worked with Grasstowne, Kenny & Amanda Smith, Junior Sisk, and Highland Travelers, currently picking the five with The Dan Tyminski Band. Along the way he has matured into one of the finest Scruggs/Crowe banjoists in our business, with a pair of solid solo projects to his credit.

Mountain Fever Records is working on a third with Davis now, and a second single is slated for release tomorrow, Working Hard Ain’t Hardly Working Anymore. Close observers of the bluegrass scene may remember this song from Jason’s time with Sisk, but now we hear it sung by the writer, Daniel Salyer, who is also a terrific vocalist in addition to his clever songwriting.

Jason brought in current bandmates, Dan Tyminski on guitar, Adam Steffey on mandolin, and his wife, Grace Davis, on bass, along with Stephen Burwell on fiddle, and Shawn Lane on harmony vocal.

“Junior Sisk used to sing this tune a lot when I was in his band, and he always sang the fire out of it! I always loved the song. So, I thought it’d be fun to cut, and for people to hear the writer, Daniel Salyer’s, take on singing it. Once we got it cut and Daniel and Shawn put their vocals on it, it really came to life, and I thought it would be a good follow-up single.”

Give it a listen.

Working Hard Ain’t Hardly Working Anymore will be available on October 19 from popular download and streaming sites online. Radio programmers can get the track via AirPlay Direct.

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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.