Track Premiere: Shadowbands from Mark Stoffel

As promised last month, Mountain Home Music Company has released a debut single from their upcoming solo project from mandolinist Mark Stoffel.

We all know Mark from his 10+ years touring and recording with Chris Jones & The Night Drivers. His soft-spoken demeanor and understated wit on stage complement the band as much as his deft and tasteful mastery of his instrument. And soon there will be a new album of his music for all of us to share.

Today Mountain Home releases a taste of the record, Shadowbands, a lovely mandolin instrumental played with bluegrass accompaniment. Stoffel tells us that the song was inspired by the solar eclipse of 2017, and the eerie figures of light associated with these episodes. If you’ve ever experienced it, you know what he means.

“You can find the specifics online, but in short, shadow bands are wavy light patterns that happen briefly before and shortly after totality. Like many of the phenomena associated with a solar eclipse, these happen on the ground, not in the sky, and it is truly amazing.”

Mark is supported here by Gina Furtado on banjo, Niall Murphy on fiddle, Josh Morrison on guitar, and Ross Sermons on bass. You can almost see the ripples of light he describes as you listen to the introduction.

Shadowbands is available now wherever you stream or download music online, and to radio programmers 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.