It’s been 10 long years since reigning (and two-time) IBMA Bass Player of the Year Vickie Vaughn’s first — and, until now, only — recording under her own name was released. Not that the western Kentucky native hasn’t been plenty active; she was a founding member of the acclaimed bluegrass neo-traditionalist group, High Fidelity, and for the past 5 years has anchored GRAMMY-nominated, all-woman string band Della Mae. Still, until she went into the studio last year with acclaimed fiddler (and co-leader of another GRAMMY-nominated, all-woman ensemble, Sister Sadie) Deanie Richardson in the producer’s chair, Vaughn’s voice hadn’t been captured front and center in a recording studio in a way that reflected her own unique musical vision.

Now signed to Mountain Home Music Company, Vaughn offers the first fruits of that effort in “Leavin’,” a densely lyrical Bruce Robison song — “[Della Mae’s] Kimber Ludiker showed it to me when she was playing fiddle with him,” recalls Vaughn, who’s kept it in her repertoire ever since — that serves as a convincing introduction to her way with a song.  

Backed by a powerhouse group of collaborators that includes Richardson, long-time colleague Casey Campbell (mandolin), award-winning guitarist Cody Kilby (Travelin’ McCourys), banjoist Wes Corbett (Sam Bush Band), drummer Dave Racine and sibling harmony singers Lillie Mae and Frank Rische, Vaughn not only drives the band like the powerhouse bassist she is, but signals, her emergence as a compelling singer, too. In fact, while fiddle, banjo, mandolin and guitar take turns in a sweetly virtuosic solo section, the emphasis is all on her expressive voice, commanding the listener’s attention as she confidently navigates the melody’s intricate rhythms and tumble of images and allusions: 

See, the words we tell each other, they're the ones we want to hear
Sometimes you throw 'em out and they come right back and just trickle down your ear
And other times you take a chance
And all you're gonna hear's the paint a-peeling 

Yeah but many things they change
When they left you barely breathing
But the girls all look the same
When they're leaving, when they're leaving

“I immediately fell in love with the stream of consciousness style of writing and the emotion present in the song,” Vaughn confesses as she considers that long-ago first listen to “Leavin’.” “I’m a pretty emotional gal myself, so singing this and getting to record it felt cathartic. It is definitely a heartstring tugger.”

"Leavin'" is streaming in Dolby Atmos spatial audio on Apple Music, Amazon Music and TIDAL. Listen to it HERE.