Three’s a charm

Blue Moon Rising

Blue Moon Rising’s recently released CD One Lonely Shadow is an aptly titled collection of songs that delve into the deep shadows of loneliness, heartbreak, lost love, lost jobs, and death.

But don’t be dissuaded from giving it a listen just because it deals in dark subjects. Recorded at Lonesome Day Records in Booneville, Ky., these tales of rough realities take us to places that can be rewarding, enjoyable even, to visit. Blue Moon Rising lightens the load with a couple of songs of faith and reincarnation and opens the proceedings with an upbeat and soulfully sung tribute to love written by lead singer Keith Garrett for his wife.

 Two of the three primary band members hail from East Tennessee, the other from Kentucky. Tennesseans Keith Garrett and Chris West share lead vocals and primary songwriting duties. Garrett plays mandolin primarily and his voice has considerable range that brings to mind Jay Farrar of Son Volt fame. West is the main guitar picker, and his deep baritone might remind you of the late, great Keith Whitley. Justin Jenkins’ excellent banjo rounds out this fine trio of musicians.

Excellent songwriting enhances Blue Moon Rising’s top-rate vocals, as do gifted guest musicians. Band members wrote many of the 12 songs on this CD. 

One Lonely Shadow is like cold shot of Smoky Mountain moonshine, bracing and apt to alter your perspective. Many of the tales it tells are dark and lonely but like any good music with blue notes the deep emotion it draws forth acts as a healthy catharsis and makes the spring sun shine even brighter.

Christabel and the Jons

If One Lonely Shadow is a shot of moonshine, Custom Made for You by Knoxville’s Christabel and the Jons is a sweet martini and maybe the perfect follow-up drink of music to refresh yourself after a slug of Blue Moon Rising’s hard stuff. 

The songs on this Southern swing quartet’s sophomore offering sound like they could have been written in the 1920s or ‘30s, but almost all were written recently by the group’s chanteuse and songwriter Christa DeCicco. Her songs are heartfelt and many, by her own admission, drawn directly from her own life. Recorded at Rock Snob Recording in Knoxville, this album tells stories about life’s simple pleasures, love’s simple desires, and appreciation for home in Tennessee, presented with catchy melodies, jazzy arrangements, a healthy dose of sly wit, and the occasional finger pops. DeCicco sings them with an easy, smooth, sultry voice. Her phrasing is superb.

She is accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Seth Hopper (who handles everything from mandolin, violin, trumpet and accordion to album art) and percussionist Jon Whitlock. Milly Sue Cavendar and Vince Ilagan share upright bass contributions. The repertoire ranges from string jazz and classic vocal blues to Appalachian folk and bluegrass. Some of it veers into honky-tonk territory.

Songs From Haywood County

It’s rare to find talented singers and musicians waxing so well on the deeds and misdeeds of one particular county’s history. Haywood County in Western North Carolina is in the midst of celebrating its bicentennial, and for those who savor the folklore and music of a unique mountain community, this album is a brilliant blend of both. Buddy Melton, Milan Miller and Mark Winchester teamed up to write, perform and produce Songs From Haywood County, with 12 tunes that come straight from local history. Natives and tourists who have passed through the county will recognize many of the landmarks referenced on the album—the Pigeon River, Maggie Valley, Cataloochee and Clyde—but there are also memorable people featured on the CD who have long deserved to be immortalized in song. There’s a tribute to Henry Grooms, a fiddler killed by the Home Guard during the Civil War. “Lay Your Rifle Down,” salutes the Confederate troops who surrendered in Waynesville (Haywood’s county seat) after firing the last shots of the Civil War east of the Mississippi. Haywood’s current state senator, Joe Sam Queen, also appears on the album giving the square dance calls of his famous grandfather, Sam Love Queen, a legendary square dance caller who once took his dance team to the White House to perform for the King and Queen of England. There are also grim tales of murderers and moonshiners, as well as government land seizures and a paper mill that endures after a century of operation. Songs From Haywood County is more than an homage to a county’s legacy. It is a reminder that we can all mine the nuggets of local folklore and celebrate what is found in a particular place, no matter where we live.