Biography

With their last single, “What The Years Do,” acclaimed Bluegrass band Balsam Range introduced acclaimed mandolinist Alan Bibey as the first new member of the group since it was founded over 15 years ago. Here, on “Snake Charmer,” Bibey sets the tone with a bluesy intro that gives way to an up-tempo romp that highlights the quintet’s whimsical side. Vocalist/fiddler Buddy Melton says, “‘Snake Charmer’ is a fun twist on the classic song subject of lost love and breakups: rather than pining over someone, why not take up some unusual hobbies? No doubt it is hard to focus on lost love when you are trying hard to charm a snake!”
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After the thoughtful introspection of their last single, “What The Years Do,” bluegrass powerhouses Balsam Range turn the page with “Snake Charmer,” an up-tempo romp that highlights the quintet’s whimsical side.

Written by the team of Milan Miller and Beth Husband — responsible for several of the group’s hits, including “Grit and Grace” and “Rivers, Rains and Runaway Trains” from their last album, Moxie And Mettle — ”Snake Charmer” jumps out of the gate in classic bluegrass fashion, with a bluesy intro provided by mandolinist, and the group’s newest member, Alan Bibey. As lead singer Buddy Melton notes, “Alan’s mandolin kick off sets the tone for this song so well, and his mesmerizing playing certainly fits the task at hand.”

Yet from the moment Melton begins to lay out the song’s chorus, it’s clear that this is no self-pitying lament — or, rather, that its narrator is self-aware enough to gently mock his own misery:

I’m gonna be a snake charmer
Palm reader, honey bee farmer
Gotta find something else to do
Anything but loving you

As the story unwinds and the singer reviews his options, a succession of blistering solos by Melton on fiddle, Marc Pruett (banjo) and guitarist Caleb Smith punctuate verses replete with rhyming wordplay:

I made myself a list of crazy things
Pipedreams, plans and ramblings
Jobs I’d like to try
Ways I think that I
Could maybe say goodbye
To the sting that heartbreak brings

A sardonic bridge and a couple of choruses round out the theme before Pruett returns to put the hammer down and Bibey follows with a virtuosic bookending coda that rides powerful rhythmic work from the band to the final chord.

Says Melton, “‘Snake Charmer’ is a fun twist on the classic song subject of lost love and breakups: rather than pining over someone, why not take up some unusual hobbies? No doubt it is hard to focus on lost love when you are trying hard to charm a snake!”

About Balsam Range
Balsam Range is Buddy Melton (fiddle, lead and tenor vocals); Dr. Marc Pruett (banjo); Tim Surrett (bass, dobro, baritone and lead vocals); Caleb Smith (guitar, lead & baritone vocals); and Alan Bibey (mandolin). The 2018 International Bluegrass Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year, Balsam Range, has become one of the genre’s most award-winning acts. Since forming in 2007, the group has garnered 13 IBMA awards on the heels of 13 critically acclaimed albums. Balsam Range has left audiences spellbound while headlining major festivals from coast-to-coast, selling out venues across the nation and in multiple appearances at the Grand Ole Opry. The band collaborated with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra Ensemble to record 2 albums, the second of which, Mountain Overture, debuted on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart at #5 and the Classical Crossover Chart at #6. Their album Mountain Voodoo debuted at #4 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums Chart and remained on that chart for 45 weeks. Three singles from that album reached #1 on the Bluegrass Today Chart, including “Blue Collar Dreams,” which spent three consecutive months at the top. The follow-up album, Aeonic debuted at #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart and spent 46 total weeks on the chart. The album featured hit songs like “The Girl Who Invented The Wheel,” “Get Me Gone” and “Angel Too Soon.” The band most recently claimed the #1 radio chart spots with their singles, “Richest Man,” “Grit and Grace,” “Rivers, Rains and Runaway Trains,” "Santa Barbara" and “Highway Side” all from their latest album (#13 for the band,) 2021’s Moxie and Mettle. In addition to winning Entertainer of the Year, Balsam Range vocalist Buddy Melton won IBMA’s Male Vocalist of the Year and bass player Tim Surrett won IBMA’s Bass Player of the Year in 2018.