The Abrams Brothers were a sensation on the bluegrass festival scene, and at IBMA, in the first few years of the 21st century. They even made an appearance on the Grand Ole Opry in 2005.
It was an irresistible concept… a trio of Canadian teens composed of brothers John and James Abrams on guitar and fiddle, along with their cousin Elijah on bass. In the mid-aughts they toured with Brandon Green on banjo, now on the faculty of the ETSU Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Music program.
Over the years, their sound has become a bit more polished and commercial, adding a drummer, utilizing a more youth-oriented look, and even releasing a grassy cover of Coldplay’s Viva La Vida in 2009.
Here’s a video they did in ’09.
With a June 21 release set for their latest project, Northern Redemption, the Abrams look to be finishing the transition to grass-inflected pop/county music. Both the aforementioned Viva La Vida and Where I’m Bound from the video above are included on this nine-track album, which showcases a number of their original songs as well.
It was produced by fellow Canadian Chris Brown of Bourbon Tabernacle Choir and Bare Naked Ladies fame.
You can use the player below to listen to four of the songs from Northern Redemption.
Let’s hope that these young Abrams have success bringing their bluegrass-flavored sound to a wide market of young music consumers.
