Biography

Radio/Label Contact
Jimmy Metts/jmetts@voxhallrecords.com/615-579-8520
Publicity/Interviews Contact:
Kyle Watson/kyle@roarpublicity.com/
Band Contact:
Daniel Routh/nu-blu@nu-blu.com/336-736-7297

CLICK HERE TO GET SHOW PREP AND INTERVIEW FOR GYPSIES ON PARADE


Previous Nu-Blu Releases:

Nu-Blu Radio Catalog
Click here to go to Nu-Blu Catalog


About Vagabonds:
Vagabonds has been an emotional endeavor from the beginning. For seven years now, having spent over 200 days each on tour, the road has become our home,” says Nu-Blu’s Carolyn Routh. “We have seen a lot, done a lot, and embraced life not only through our own experiences, but also through the lives of those we have met. This project reflects the collective heart and soul of them, and of ourselves along the way.-Carolyn Routh

It’s been a little while since we’ve had new music from Nu-Blu, the North Carolina-based band headed up by husband-and-wife team Daniel and Carolyn Routh. Their last album, All the Way, came out back in 2014, with hit single That’s What Makes the Bluegrass Blue taking the airwaves by storm throughout 2015. They’re back this summer with Vagabonds from Voxhall Records, eleven tracks full of emotional stories and smooth, country-tinged melodies.

The band’s showpiece is bass player Carolyn Routh’s voice, which is in the forefront on all but one song. Part of her talent lies in knowing when a song calls for belting out the lyrics, and when it calls for a softer, more restrained vocal. On opening track, The Bridges That You’ve Burned, a rollicking kiss-off number led by T.J. Honaker’s banjo, she embraces the anger and bitterness in the lyrics, giving a no-good man a firm goodbye. A fun cover of Waylon Jennings’ and Willie Nelson’s Good Hearted Woman calls for a country powerhouse approach (think Tammy Wynette), set to bouncy contemporary grass instrumentation.

On the other hand, the soft guitar intro of 640 Battlefield Drive sets the tone for a story of a mother sending her two sons off to war. Carolyn’s more delicate approach here matches the mother’s pain when she finds out that only one will be coming home. A similar tactic is used on Gypsies on Parade, a melancholy-sounding number written by Mark Miller that takes listeners behind the scenes of a famous band on tour. It’s not all adoring fans and number ones, but plenty of lonely nights and regrets for leaving loved ones at home. Stripped down mandolin and guitar from Clint White and former member Levi Austin work well together to create the song’s atmosphere.

A Lot More Love, penned by Michael Gresham, Jill Spencer, and Troy Johnson, tackles pertinent societal issues, urging listeners to overlook outer appearances, religion, and political beliefs in favor of remembering that “everybody’s got a heart that bleeds, everybody’s got a road to walk.” The lyrics present fairly broad images (a man in a truck with a gun rack, a woman in a VW bug with a rainbow on its window), and it could be argued that it will take more than “a little less hate and lot more love” to fix the divides in American society, but the song is definitely a good reminder to think before judging others. Surround Me with Love, originally an early eighties hit by country singer Charly McClain, is another track with a positive message. It speaks of a comforting person that the singer goes to when “dreams come falling down, friends just can’t be found.” It could easily be read as either a secular love song or as a Gospel song.

Other highlights include the gently rolling How Many Rivers, a quietly lonesome number penned by Shawn Lane and Gerald Ellenburg with lead vocals from Daniel Routh, and the uplifting anthem Still Small Voice from Jimmy Fortune, Tony Lopacinski, and Devin Belle. Fortune and Ben Isaacs provide guest vocals on the stirring song, which urges listeners to allow their inner selves out, embracing imagination and voicing opinions. The band takes a poppy, progressive approach to the song, with a nice buildup to the chorus.

Nu-Blu is a creative band. You’ll very rarely hear them relying on old standards or even bluegrass deep cuts. Instead, they find intriguing new songs from writers both in and outside the genre, and reinvent older tracks that, in general, haven’t yet found a home in bluegrass. On Vagabonds, as on some of their past releases, they embrace more of an acoustic country vibe rather than straight-ahead bluegrass, and it’s definitely a sound that works for them and allows Carolyn Routh’s vocals to shine. - John Goad / Bluegrass Today

Release Date: April 28, 2017

Track Listing:
1. THE BRIDGES THAT YOU’VE BURNED (2:38)
Songwriters: Carl Jackson / Rob McDonnell
Publishers:Colonel Rebel Music (ASCAP) administered by BMG/Chrysalis/
Rob McDonald Music (BMI)

2. A LOT MORE LOVE (3:40)
Songwriters: Michael Gresham/Jill Spencer/Troy Johnson
Publishers: Stars Shine on Music/Go Pokes Music/Midtown Music South (SESAC) Yacht Haven Music (SESAC)

3. STILL SMALL VOICE (3:41)
Songwriters: Tony Lopacinski/Devin Belle/Jimmy Fortune
Publishers: Big Mouth Music (BMI)/Little Igloo Music (BMI)/Jimmy Fortune Music (BMI)

4. 640 BATTLEFIELD DRIVE (3:56)
Songwriters: Connie Harrington/Bonnie Baker
Publishers EMI April Music, Inc./Little Cricket Music (ASCAP)Universal Music Corp./Annabelia’s Farm Music(ASCAP)

5. HOW MANY RIVERS (2:39)
Songwriters: Gerald Ellenburg/Shawn Lane
Publishers: Wadako Publishing (BMI)/Cattown Music (BMI)

6. TROUBLEMAKER (3:19)
Songwriters: Jennifer Sherrill/Walt Aldridge
Publishers: Charlie Monk Music(ASCAP)/Baughnsongs(ASCAP)/Nahum 113 Publishing(ASCAP)Dixie Stars Music(ASCAP)

7. GYPSIES ON PARADE (3:39)
Songwriters: Mark A Miller
Publishers: Colgems EMI Music, Inc.(ASCAP)

8. A FOOL AND HER HEART (2:57)
Songwriters: Marc A. Rossi/Larry Wayne Clark
Publishers: Marc My Words Music
(ASCAP)/ Brainchild Music (SOCAN)

9. SURROUND ME WITH LOVE (4:26)
Songwriters: Norris D Wilson/ Wayland Holyfield
Publishers: EMI Al Gallico Music Corp (BMI)Universal Polygram International Publishing, Inc.(ASCAP)

10. GOOD HEARTED WOMAN (3:39)
Songwriters: Waylon Jennings/Willie Nelson
Publishers: EMI Full Nelson Music(BMI)/ Universal Songs Of Polygram International, Inc.(BMI)

11. KNOCKIN’ ON HEAVEN’S DOOR (3:53)
Songwriters: Robert Dylan
Publishers: Ram-S-Horn Music(SESAC)

Liner Notes:
-Musicians:
Special Guests: Jimmy Fortune, Ben Isaacs (Still Small Voice)
*Ben Isaacs appears courtesy of House of Isaacs Music
Carolyn Routh – Lead Vocals/Bass
Daniel Routh - Vocals/Guitar
Clint White - Fiddle/ Mandolin
T.J. Honaker – Banjo
Tony Creasman – Percussion
Levi Austin - Vocals/Guitar

-Production Credits:
Tracking, editing and mixing done by: Red Squared Audio, NC
Additional vocals for ‘Still Small Voice’ recorded at: Skagg’s Place Studio, Nashville, TN
Additional vocals engineered by: Ben Isaacs
Mastered by: Red Squared Audio, NC
Engineered by: Daniel Routh
Executive Producer: Jimmy Metts
Produced by: Nu-Blu
Cover Artwork: Leah Hailey Polk
Creative layout and design: Josh Alfaro & David Lindes
Photography: Jeremy Ryan, Cotton Mill Studio, Nashville, TN
Styled By: Caitlin Stolley, Lily Guilder Design, Nashville, TN

About Nu-Blu:
Hailing from Siler City, NC, the textbook definition of a picturesque small southern town, Nu-Blu’s heart and soul is husband-and-wife duo Daniel and Carolyn Routh. Carolyn’s caramel-coated soprano is one of the band’s defining traits, at times a tender lullaby, at times a freight train headed straight for you, but always unwinding a surprising tale. Daniel is the group’s backbone, a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who also handles band management. TJ Honaker on vocals and banjo, and Justin Harrison on fiddle/mandolin round out the quartet’s warm, layered, American roots sound. Together they deliver upbeat, blazing-fingers pick work just as well as gentle, heartwarming ballads, and they do it all with a natural togetherness that can’t be faked, forged over hundreds of shows on the road.