With: Mike Bub, Michael Daves, Stuart Duncan, Casey Campbell, Chris Eldridge, Grant Gordy, David Grier, David Grisman, Sam Grisman, Alex Hargreaves, Bobby Hicks, Ethan Jodziewicz, Dominick Leslie, Rob McCoury, Jesse McReynolds, Tim Mensy, Tim O’Brien, Jeff Picker, Noam Pikelny, Buddy Spicher, Bryan Sutton, Tony Trischka
Though he’s a Nashville native who became a professional player at a young age as part of Jesse McReynolds’ band, Mike Barnett can still be considered another breakout talent from the Boston roots music scene that produced the likes of Lake Street Dive, Crooked Still and The Deadly Gentlemen, a newgrass outfit where he held fiddle duties from 2011 to 2014. On his second solo effort, PORTRAITS IN FIDDLES, he takes a moment to reflect on the extraordinary blessings he’s had building a career as a premier fiddler in bluegrass music (leading up to his current gig as a member of Kentucky Thunder, the traveling band of bluegrass legend, Ricky Skaggs) and to celebrate his heroes, collaborators, and contemporaries. The album is a unique snapshot of the music’s finest, from Buddy Spicher and Jesse McReynolds to David Grisman and Stuart Duncan, on to Bryan Sutton and Tony Trischka with special guest vocals from Tim O’Brien. Barnett curated the set and in many cases arranged the compositions, putting himself in harm’s way as it were, a short interval away from the titans of the form, settling into composed instrumental breaks or trading off on improvisation, an exercise he says was intended to “put me up against my heroes as a challenge, to push me to always achieve my best.” Interspersed throughout the tracks, his musical guests offer commentary on their own career beginnings or insight into some of the special compositions he’s chosen for this thoughtful collection.
released February 5, 2019
Produced by Mike Barnett
Recorded by: Brandon Bell at Southern Ground, Nashville, TN; Dave Ferguson
at The Butcher Shoppe, Nashville, TN; Chris Allen and Owen Mulholland at
Sear Sound, New York, NY; Kurt Storey at Compass Sound Studio, Nashville,
TN; Jake Lummus at Grand Street Studio, Brooklyn, NY; Scott Barnett at
Crossroads Recording Studios, Arden, NC; Tomek Miernowski at Sear Sound,
New York, NY; Paul Gannon at Big Ear Recording Studio, Nashville, TN;
George Rezendes at Toolshed SoundLab, Port Townsend, WA.
“Dixie Hoedown” and “Okeechobee Wind” edited by Tomek Miernowski
Mixed by Brandon Bell at Southern Ground, Nashville, TN
Mastered by Don Cobb at Independent Mastering, Nashville, TN
Portraits by Tracey Bigelow Grisman |
oldtimeyart.com
Design by Robert Hakalski |
visual-machinery.com
Michael Daves appears courtesy of Nonesuch Records
David Grisman appears courtesy of Acoustic Disc
Bobby Hicks appears courtesy of Rebel Records
Rob McCoury appears courtesy of McCoury Music
Tim O’Brien appears courtesy of Howdy Skies Records
Noam Pikelny appears courtesy of Rounder Records
Bryan Sutton appears courtesy of Sugar Hill Records