Mountain Home Music Company and The Little Roy & Lizzy Show have partnered to release Welcome To The Show, the powerhouse ensemble’s first recording in almost three years. The collection shows the veteran group at the top of their game on a deftly curated set of originals and favorites from bluegrass, country, gospel and beyond.
Led by multi-instrumentalist and lead singer Lizzy Long alongside multi-instrumentalist and Bluegrass Hall of Famer Little Roy Lewis, the quintet break right out of the gate with the title track, a lively original from Joel Lindsay and producer Wayne Haun that sets the pace for the album with a straightforward declaration of purpose:
Aim the spotlight, cue the band
Time is fleeting but time’s at hand
There’s harmony to make before we go
It’s why we’re here
So welcome to the show.
And what a show it is—a signature mix of sacred sentiments and spirited bluegrass, with plenty of good humor, joyous gospel affirmation and nostalgia punctuated with more reflective moments that demonstrate the group has more than simple escapism on their minds. Among the latter are the thoughtful Long co-write, “Story of My Life (Preacher Man),” and the durable Carter Family classic, “Give Me The Roses While I Live”—the latter featuring Little Roy recapping the autoharp playing and harmony singing that formed such an important part of the legendary Lewis Family’s shows over the years.
Still, it’s in the upbeat songs, driven by Little Roy’s distinctive banjo style, that the Show—Little Roy, Lizzy, mandolinist Matthew Songmaker, bassist Holger Oleson and harmony vocalist Sally Sandker—finds an exuberant comfort zone. And whether it’s on country classics like Martha Carson’s “It’s All Right (If You’ve Done Your Best)” and Merle Haggard’s “Rainbow Stew,” a neglected bluegrass gospel gem like Randall Hylton’s “Let Me Go Wicked World,” the surprise REO Speedwagon cover, “Time For Me To Fly” or the energetic sing-alongs co-written by Haun, “Down Home” and “Till The Sun Goes Down,” the band supplies an abundance of sharp harmonies and show-stopping picking.
Bio source airplaydirect.com Accessed April 29, 2022.