Biography

Quality, diversity and a knack for song selection are trademarks of The Rarely Herd’s music and the material on Heartbreak City is no exception. The group can shift easily from a contemporary tune like Czech songwriter Petr Vacek’s “I’ll Take Rain,” to Daman Black’s haunting traditional number “I Haven’t Seen Mary in Years,” and never break stride. The band then goes on to turn in burning bluegrass arrangements of two 1950’s pop classics-Buddy Holly’s “Well All Right” and “Mystery Train” from Elvis Presley’s Sun Records days. “I and Young Billy,” a dramatic new song with a Civil War theme written by Kentuckian Bill Castle, is given a touching interpretation by the group. This entire album with all its variety flows along naturally, and speaks volumes of The Herd’s flair for finding and presenting great music.