North Carolina’s modern bluegrass phenomenon Hank, Pattie & The Current announce the release of their second studio album Hold Your Head Up High on Robust Records.
Making use of traditional bluegrass instrumentation in a unique non-traditional way; the album features the full range of their talents as composers and arrangers creating an album as rich and deep as their collective musical backgrounds. Their first album garnered critical acclaim and the single “Sundown” was on the ballot to be considered for Grammy® nomination.
Hold Your Head Up High traces the development of Hank, Pattie & The Current as a band and as musicians, following their musical influences from Latin, Classical and Jazz. Their songs run from slow, beautiful, and melodic to fast picking, upbeat, and joyous offerings. The honeyed ballad Hold Your Head Up High” combine’s Hank’s banjo with Pattie’s vocals to create a casual arose journey. “Earl in Vienna” combines bluegrass with classical music to create a beutiffuly intricate meld of emotions – showcasing the band’s depth. The happy and upbeat single “County Line” is driven by Pattie’s strong and elegant vocals with a pop twist and is undoubtedly the ear-worm from the album. Written and sung by Ben Parker. “Father of Mine” is a touching tribute to the father and child bond that will tear at your heartstrings while the instrumentation will take you back to simpler times.
The Current is Hank Smith on banjo and Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw on fiddle and vocals and are backed by an all-star band comprised of North Carolina musicians E. Scott Warren on Bass, Ben Parker on guitar and vocals, and Robert Thornhill on mandolin and vocals.