CAROLINA MOONRISE - Blugrass Songs by Robert Hunter and Jim Lauderdale
SKY CRUNCH RECORDS
Acclaimed performer Jim Lauderdale has just released his 21st recording with new bluegrass record, Carolina Moonrise. The album, which saw its physical and digital release on September 25, 2012 through Sky Crunch Records, finds Lauderdale honoring his home state and first musical love, bluegrass.
Jim Lauderdale and Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter have been longstanding songwriting compadres, each an award-winning writer acclaimed across multiple genres. Carolina Moonrise: Bluegrass Songs by Robert Hunter and Jim Lauderdale is their fifth collaboration and a logical follow-up to the 2011 GRAMMY nominated Reason and Rhyme. Sonically, the album offers a fresh, contemporary take on traditional bluegrass.
For Carolina Moonrise, Lauderdale once again paired up with Dobro ace Randy Kohrs who produced Grammy-nominated Reason and Rhyme, Could We Get Any Closer?, and The Bluegrass Diaries, recording the project at Nashville's Slack Key Studios. The album's thirteen tracks play with a variety of tempo and rhythm, vitality being a hallmark of his style, and revisit the genre that earned Lauderdale Grammy Awards for Best Bluegrass Album in 2002 (Lost In The Lonesome Pines, a Ralph Stanley collaboration) and in 2007 (The Bluegrass Diaries.)
Some of Nashville's most talented players contribute on the record, friends who Lauderdale has worked with on past bluegrass projects. Carolina Moonrise features picking from producer Kohrs (dobro,) Tim Crouch (fiddle,) Jay Weaver (bass,) Josh Williams (guitar,) Aaron Ramsey (mandolin) and Scott Vestal (banjo.) Similarly to 2011's Reason and Rhyme, the tried and true team of pickers remains the same for every track.
"I am very excited about this record. I got to write the whole thing with one of my all-time heroes, Robert Hunter" Lauderdale shares. "Randy Kohrs really outdid himself as a producer and it was incredible to work with these fine players. This has been an overall great experience."
Jim Lauderdale is a multi-talented performer and songwriter, with success in both country and bluegrass music, and an international fan base. He is a two-time GRAMMY award winner, Americana Association award winner, and is among Nashville's "A" list of songwriters. He is also the co-host of SiriusXM's Buddy and Jim Show. His songs have been covered by Patty Loveless, George Jones, The Dixie Chicks, Solomon Burke, Vince Gill and George Strait. In addition to extensive touring as a solo artist he has also toured with some of the best in Americana, roots and bluegrass music, including Lucinda Williams, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rhonda Vincent and Elvis Costello.
