The battle for the soul of bluegrass music rages on, good-naturedly of course, among those who prefer the sound that defined the genre in the beginning versus others who like to nibble away at the boundaries. Some of the argument lives on the semantic level, with artists eschewing the term “traditional” in favor of “real bluegrass.”
Lorraine Jordan, who once billed herself as “The Lady of Tradition,” is in the game as well with her latest single, where the lyrics ask the question, “Why can’t bluegrass just be true grass again?”
Sung by Carolina Road’s able lead vocalist Tommy Long, assisted by Junior Sisk and Danny Paisley, the track has been moving up our Bluegrass Today Weekly AirPlay chart as radio hosts and listeners alike warm to the sentiment expressed in its plaintive refrain.
This week they have released a music video with all the players in tow. Check it out here on YouTube.
This single will serve as the title track of Lorraine and the Road’s upcoming Pinecastle album, due on August 10.
Pre-orders for True Grass Again are available now online, and radio programmers can get the single at AirPlay Direct.
To celebrate the new album release, Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road will perform this weekend on the Midnight Jamboree, airing on WSM radio from Nashville. If you can’t get WSM over the air, you can listen online.