For 53 years running, The Seldom Scene has captivated generations of fans by building their own vision of string-band music. Today, on Smithsonian Folkways, the quintet released their brand new album, Remains to Be Scene, which continues their long-running legacy of pulling gems from within and beyond the bluegrass canon and reimagining them in what is now a signature style: steady, rolling tempos, expert picking, and endless feeling. Comprised of mandolin player Lou Reid, bassist Ronnie Simpkins, banjoist and fiddler Ron Stewart, dobro player Fred Travers, and guitarist Dudley Connell (who was recently succeeded by Grammy award-winner Clay Hess—more on that below), Remains to Be Scene features an interpretation of Jim Croce’s “A Good Time Man Like Me Ain’t Got No Business (Singin’ the Blues),” The Kinks’ “Last of the Steam-Powered Trains,” a pair of songs by Bob Dylan: “Walking Down the Line” and “Farewell Angelina,” the latter made famous by Joan Baez in 1965. The group also revisits a fan-favorite, “White Line,” from the iconic Live at the Cellar Door album and pays tribute to one of their key forebears, Flatt & Scruggs, with “Hard Travelin’.”
Self-produced with engineering and mixing by Jim Robeson at his studio The Bar in Rockville, Maryland, Remains to Be Scene caps the end of an era for the group in many ways. The album is dedicated to the memory of Bluegrass Hall of Famer and Seldom Scene cofounder Ben Eldridge, who retired from the group in 2014. Eldridge remained a major presence and friend to the band, penning heartfelt liner notes for this album before his passing in April 2024.
Also notable is that Remains to Be Scene marks the group’s final album with Dudley Connell, another Bluegrass Hall of Famer as a member of the Johnson Mountain Boys. Connell wrapped up a Seldom Scene tenure of nearly three decades on guitar and vocals with his retirement at the end of 2024. “Twenty-nine years, dude, that’s a long, long time,” Connell says with a laugh. “No regrets, I’ve loved every minute of it, and it’s been a real joy working with these guys for so long. But I want to get out while I still have my mobility and can travel, walk my dog, things like that.”
Fans can stream or purchase Remains to Be Scene today by following this link. For tour dates and everything else, please visit seldomscene.com.
Remains to Be Scene Tracklist:
Last of the Steam-Powered Trains
Man at the Crossroads
A Good Time Man Like Me Ain’t Got No Business (Singin’ the Blues)
Hard Travelin’
Farewell, Angelina
Walking Down the Line
Lonesome Day
I Could Cry
White Line
Show Me the Way to Go Home
The Story of My Life
About The Seldom Scene: Most legendary bluegrass artists get that way by rambling far and wide. But not The Seldom Scene, which is as legendary as they come even though the group has mostly stayed close to home in the greater Washington, D.C., vicinity for most of its 53 years of existence. And yet even as the progressive bluegrass quintet’s lineup has turned over multiple times from those early days, The Scene has maintained an admirably high standard of musicality and artistry, on record as well as onstage at live-residency venues like The Birchmere in Alexandra, Virginia. The band makes old songs sound brand new while putting a bluegrass spin on some of the least-likely cover songs in the genre. Those virtues are all in place on Remains to Be Scene, their 24th album, released on Smithsonian Folkways, on which they cover everybody from Bob Dylan to The Kinks with customary flair. The album is also another milestone effort for the Scene -- the first since the passing of co-founder Ben Eldridge (who penned liner notes before his death in April 2024) as well as the last for longtime Scene member Dudley Connell, who is retiring after 29 years in the band. As usual, the rest of the Scene is taking those departures in stride. One way or another, The Seldom Scene will go on.
About Smithsonian Folkways: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the "National Museum of Sound," makes available close to 60,000 tracks in physical and digital format as the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian, with a reach of 80 million people per year. A division of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the non-profit label is dedicated to supporting cultural diversity and increased understanding among people through the documentation, preservation, production and dissemination of sound. Its mission is the legacy of Moses Asch, who founded Folkways Records in 1948 to document "people's music" from around the world. For more information about Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, visit folkways.si.edu.
