Billy Blue Records has dropped a second single from Tribulation, their upcoming album with Appalachian Road Show. This exciting new group was the hit of the week at IBMA’s World of Bluegrass convention last September, and has lit up every venue they have appeared this past two years.
Today’s single is for the title track, which gives as good a demonstration of what this band is about as any they have cut. It’s a simple – almost primitive – version of this Gospel classic, taken from the book of Revelations, speaking of terrible events prophesied in Scripture. Sung as a duet between Barry Abernathy and Darrell Webb with only guitar accompaniment, it retains the old time sound of EC Ball’s original recording of it from 1959. Even the colloquial pronunciations remain, true to Ball’s southwestern Virginia roots.
Keeping Appalachian music alive is the group’s mission, as well as sharing its richness and intensity with today’s audiences. These guys not only have a deep understanding of the folk culture of the region, with three of the five growing up there, they posses the virtuosity and experience to deliver it in a powerful stage show.
Here’s the new track…
Appalachian Road Show consists of Jim Van Cleve on fiddle, Todd Phillips on bass, and Zeb Snyder on guitar, in addition to Abernathy on banjo and Webb on mandolin.
Tribulation, the album, is set to release on March 27. Pre-orders will go live tomorrow online.
