As the early years of bluegrass recede with the passing of time, savvy artists are learning to look later in the genre’s history for neglected classics that deserve a fresh new look. Case in point: Mountain Home Music Company’s Jaelee Roberts. Fresh from receiving the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Female Vocalist of the Year award — she’s the youngest to have taken the honor since Alison Krauss’s early ‘90s wins — Roberts has followed up by dusting off a late 80s gem that helped to launch the career of Krauss’s musical sidekick, Dan Tyminski. Offering the signature bluegrass marriage of a troubled lyric with the onward rush of banjo, mandolin and fiddle, “Looking For Yourself” — the title track to a 1988 Lonesome River Band album that marked Tyminski’s first appearance on the national stage — is a revealing choice for a generational talent.
“I absolutely love the 80s and 90s era of bluegrass music,” Roberts enthuses, “and ‘Looking For Yourself’ completely embodies that vibe. I’ve been an LRB fan my entire life, and this song has always jumped out at me while listening to that classic album. So I decided that ‘Looking For Yourself’ should be the first bluegrass cover song that I’d record! Andy Leftwich [mandolin, fiddle], Cody Kilby [current IBMA Guitar Player of the Year], Ron Block [banjo], Byron House [bass, producer], John Gardner [percussion] and Grayson Lane are absolutely awesome and made this track go from dream to reality for me!”
“Speaking of Grayson Lane,” she continues, “I just have to say how happy I am to have him singing harmony with me on this. We have known each other since we were born — literally — and he is one of my favorite singers, so to have his voice on ‘Looking For Yourself’ was the icing on the cake.”
Indeed, the track is full of masterful performances, starting with Leftwich’s deft recapitulation of Tyminski’s original mandolin kickoff, and extending through rapid-fire solos that hand off phrases from fiddle to banjo to mandolin and back. Still, it’s Roberts’ confident navigation of the song’s twisty melody and distinctive chord structure that makes the single so compelling, especially when she and Lane offer its thoughtful chorus:
No matter where you run, no matter where you hide
The very thing you’re running from is buried deep inside
No matter who you ask, no matter who you tell
It’s a lonely road you’re walking on when you’re looking for yourself
“I hope y’all will enjoy my spin of one of my favorite bluegrass songs,” Roberts concludes, before adding a characteristically mirthful note — “and that you’ll listen to it loud and sing along at the top of your lungs!”
“Looking For Yourself” is streaming in Dolby Atmos spatial audio on Apple Music, Amazon Music and TIDAL. Listen to it HERE.
