“Line The Avenues”, written by the Henhouse Prowlers singer/banjo player Ben Wright, releases today to celebrate the upcoming Veterans Day.
“This is one of those songs that really hits hard if you’re listening close," shares producer Stephen Mougin. “I was standing at Ben's kitchen table when he played it for me and my eyes welled up with tears. Thinking of all of the service men and women who have given so much, many who never returned and many who returned broken by the horrors of war. My father served in Vietnam and rarely talks about it, but I can see his pain and the fear that still strikes. ‘Line The Avenues’ is a powerful reminder to both honor our service members and make every effort to strive for peace.”
Richard Marion Wright, Ben's grandfather was a B-25 pilot in the 12th Bombardment Group over North Africa in World War 2. When Ben turned 10, his grandpa woke him up early in the morning and showed him his photo books from the war.
Ben Wright shares: “It hits me harder now than it did as a 10 year old that his plane was called ‘Sad Music’, unsurprisingly. He grew up in a small Indiana town not far from where the Wright Brothers had their bicycle shop and there was always talk of how it only made sense to him that he should fly like his cousins. Whether or not the family connection is true, I never needed more of a reason to think he was cool. ‘Cappaw’, as my brother and I called him, got me up early one day when I was a boy and talked me through his experience in the war, using his own stunning photos to jog his memory and help me understand this experience that he knew he was lucky to have survived. When it came time to finally write this song, I asked my father to send me those photo books and I went back to the morning again. The reasons for fighting may change, but the consequences don't. I can't help but think that’s part of why he woke me up early that morning—so I might come to that conclusion someday.”
The “Line The Avenues” single art is an actual photo from the book, featuring Richard Marion Wright along with his crew and his plane.
DJs, broadcasters and radio programmers can download the single HERE:
Founded nearly two decades ago with the simple desire to play original and powerful bluegrass, this quartet now finds themselves at the intersection of performance, diplomacy and education. Onstage, the group's enthralling performances give audiences a sense of how much they love what they do. On record – including their latest offering, 2023’s Lead and Iron, released on Dark Shadow Recording – the band explores their collective life experiences through songwriting and intricate instrumentation. While bluegrass is the undeniable foundation of the Prowlers’ music, the band bends and squeezes the traditional form into a keenly developed sound all their own.The Prowlers have now been to more than 25 countries across the globe, working with the U.S. State Department and under their own nonprofit, Bluegrass Ambassadors, and incorporating music from Africa, Asia, the Middle East & more into their already robust repertoire of unique traditional American music. On stage, in workshops and wherever they are, the Henhouse Prowlers find and spread the commonality we share as human beings through the universal language of music.
