In advance of the release of his debut album, Raising the Bar, Chad Darou has released not one, but two singles today, the title track, an instrumental, and Heaven, a re-working of the Bryan Adams’ ballad, with Cia Cherryholmes stealing the limelight with her stellar vocals.
Darou started playing music at the ripe old age of eight, and by the age 12 he had established enough of a reputation to get asked to perform at the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee.
After a break from music to focus on his education, the classically trained bass player joined Stan Tyminski – Dan’s brother – and Rustic Blue on a tour of The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. This was the springboard that set Darou back on the road as a full-time musician.
In nearly 40 years of making music he has played with such notable artists as Bill Keith, Del Reeves, Boxcar Willie, Bill Harrell, The Lonesome River Band, The Gibson Brothers, and Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen.
Raising the Bar, a Bell Buckle Records/Chad Darou Records’ release, showcases his playing of his Beard resonator guitar on what Darou describes as “an eclectic mix of music that painted a picture of who I am.”
This is what Darou has to say about the two tracks …
Raising the Bar, the album, will be available from September 4, 2018, with a release party the following evening at Daryl’s House Restaurant & Live Music Club in Pawling, NY.
Special guests at the release party will be Cia Cherryholmes, Alecia Nugent, Dave Adkins and Mike Munford, all of whom share their skills in the recording of this forthcoming album.
Here’s a listen to the twin singles, with a few words from Chad about each.
“Raising the Bar is my personal tribute to two of my biggest influences on the dobro. Mike Auldridge and Jerry Douglas both influenced my playing so much that I wanted to pay homage by writing and recording a tune that showed just how much. I also wanted to push myself to a new height in my playing.”
“I heard a dance remix of this classic Bryan Adams ballad, and decided right then it was meant to be done ‘bluegrass.’ As soon as I started playing around with the arrangement I knew the only voice for this was Cia Cherryholmes. No one has heard from Cia in quite a while, making her an even better choice, and she did an amazing job. Great to hear this one come together.”
Both singles are available to radio programmers at AirPlay Direct.
Pre-orders are available online.
