In just over a decade, Balsam Range has collected armfuls of industry awards, held multiple months at the top of radio charts, recorded and performed with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, and headlined an array of eclectic music festivals, all the while maintaining their identity and refining their craft to become one of the most vital artists in the roots genre.
On the heels of their second International Bluegrass Music Association Entertainer of the Year award, this eminent band continues to be a tour de force in Bluegrass with their album, Aeonic, to be released January 4, 2019 from Mountain Home Music Company.
With this music, Balsam Range continues to grow the magic that has mesmerized audiences and expanded their fandom – arresting songs full of humanity, dynamic performances graced with subtleties, and material that is both personal and profound. Music that would be powerful in any genre but is made all the more compelling through this Western North Carolina band’s acoustic music mastery.
The album leads with the band’s #1 radio single “The Girl Who Invented the Wheel,” an out-ofthe-box hit with lead vocal by the 2018 International Bluegrass Association’s Male Vocalist of the Year, Buddy Melton. It continues with highly crafted, original and penetrating songs arranged and performed by a band voted the top group in their genre. “Tumbleweed,” “The Rambler,” “Hobo Blues” and “Help Me To Hold On” are journeys into selfreflection and a search for meaning, as well as social statements. Each are powerful lyrically and performed with detailed subtleties only achievable by artists at this level. The lead vocal duties, shared with Melton by Darren Nicholson, Caleb Smith and Tim Surrett, offer another diverse layer of depth from song to song.
“Get Me Gone” is the second national radio release from the album and features Melton on a “leaving” song co-written by Walt Wilkins, writer of the band’s 2010 IBMA Song of The Year, “Trains I Missed.”
Two-time IBMA Bass Player of the Year Tim Surrett takes the lead vocal to conclude the album in an unexpected cover of The Beatles’ “If I Needed Someone,” bookending this collection with unconventional sounds. The Beatles-style harmony arrangements and driving syncopation help prove why this band has extended their status at the top of the genre while turning new audiences into dedicated fans.
It has been said that great songs are timeless. But they also organize time into attractive human pieces while their lyrics manage their way into our hearts and minds with lasting meaning. Great music has no expiration date – it is Aeonic.