Raw, soulful, and with plenty of swagger, Town Mountain, based in Asheville, NC, releases their 5th studio album Southern Crescent on April 1, 2016 through LoHi Records. Produced and engineered by GRAMMY winner Dirk Powell, the album was recorded in Powell’s studio The Cypress House in Breaux Bridge, LA. It was mixed by Mixed by Scott Vestal at Digital Underground in Greenbrier, TN.
With an insatiable musical hunger, the members of Town Mountain (Robert Greer on vocals and guitar, Jesse Langlais on banjo and vocals, Bobby Britt on fiddle, Phil Barker on mandolin and vocals, and Nick DiSebastian on bass) made their way to the little south-central Louisiana town of Breaux Bridge, where they recorded their most cohesive, most satisfying album to date. Adam Chaffins* plays bass in the touring outfit.
Southern Crescent was recorded in a decidedly old-school way, live, with minimal fixes and overdubs, with all the musicians in the same room and no noise-reducing baffling between them. Each of Town Mountain's members contributed songs to Southern Crescent, with Barker, Langlais and Greer the chief writers in the band.
From the boogie-woogie piano of Jerry Lee Lewis that inspired the delightful (and danceable) "Coming Back to You," to Greer's cleverly penned and fast-paced "Tick on a Dog," which offers a taste of another major bluegrass influence, Jimmy Martin, Southern Crescent is tailor-made to keep live audiences on their feet, but it'll also keep those who think they can easily peg Town Mountain on their toes.
That variety is indeed part of what drives Southern Crescent, which opens with Britt's delightfully dizzying fiddle work on "St. Augustine," and showcases Greer's hard-country vocals on "House With No Windows" and on the freewheeling composition "Ain't Gonna Worry Me," (penned by Barker). The group members' palpable chemistry (and individual artistry) are displayed throughout such instantly memorable tracks as "Wildbird," (Barker) and "I Miss the Night," which Langlais penned (with Mark Bumgarner) after experiencing 22 hours of daylight during Alaska's summer solstice.
The new album is being released on the new LoHi Records. Based in Greensboro, NC, the label is a partnership formed by entrepreneur and marketing veteran Jim Brooks with singer/songwriter and record producer Todd Snider, record producer Tim Carbone (who also plays fiddle in newgrass band Railroad Earth) and Chad Staehly from Gold Mountain Entertainment in Nashville.
Town Mountain's Southern Crescent Tour 2016:
4/1 Fri - The Grey Eagle - Asheville, NC
4/2 Sat - Newgrass Brewing Company - Shelby, NC
4/5 Tue - Hampton Taphouse - Hampton, VA
4/6 Wed - Gypsy Sally's - Washington, DC
4/7 Thu - Lizard Lounge - Cambridge, MA
4/8 Fri - Hill Country BBQ - New York, NY
4/9 Sat - The Hobo Stage - Fredon, NJ
4/10 Sun - Tin Angel - Philadelphia, PA
4/12 Tue - Haymarket Whiskey Bar - Louisville, KY
4/13 Wed - Cosmic Charlie’s - Lexington, KY
4/14 Thu - The Station Inn - Nashville, TN
4/15 Fri - Barley's - Knoxville, TN
4/16 Sat - Waverly “Old 280” Boogie - Waverly, AL
4/17 Sun - Zydeco - Birmingham, AL
4/28 Thu - Independent Ale House - Greenville, SC
4/30 Sat - UNC - Chapel Hill, NC
5/13 Fri - KSUT Concert Series @ Henry Strater Theatre - Durango, CO
5/14 Sat - Denver Beer Co.’s Sundrenched Music Festival - Denver, CO
5/14 Sat - Ophelia's Electric Soapbox - Denver, CO (After party with Hot Buttered Run)
5/21 Sat - The Pour House - Charleston, SC (with Peter Rowan)
5/22 Sun - Lincoln Theatre - Raleigh, NC (supporting Hard Working Americans)
5/24 Tue - The Orange Peel - Asheville, NC (supporting Hard Working Americans)
5/25 Wed - Minglewood Hall - Memphis, TN (supporting Hard Working Americans)
5/27 Fri - White Squirrel Festival - Brevard, NC
5/28 Sat - Rooster Walk - Martinsville, VA
6/1 Wed - Music City Roots - Nashville, TN
6/3 Fri - Bailey Park - Winston-Salem, NC
6/5 Sun - Nelsonville Music Festival
6/11 Sat - Festival of the Bluegrass - Lexington, KY
6/16 Thu - Back Porch Music Series - Durham, NC
6/23 Thu - Rudyfest 16 - Grayson, KY
6/24 Fri - ROMP Fest - Owensboro, KY
7/23 Sat - Homegrown Music Festival - Ozark, AR
8/5 Sat - Pickathon - Happy Valley, OR
