Biography

Singers Keith Garrett and Dustin Pyrtle join Benson — that’s the musical partnership of award-winning banjo player Kristin Scott Benson and her acclaimed mandolin-picking husband, Wayne Benson — on “Louise,” a song with a memorable melody and wistful story. Written and first recorded by Paul Siebel, “Louise” may be best known in the luminous version Bonnie Raitt included on a 1977 album, Sweet Forgiveness, but it’s been “‘grassed up” every so often, though never more winningly than in Benson’s fresh take.
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For their first release of 2024, Mountain Home Music Company’s Benson — that’s the musical partnership of award-winning banjo player Kristin Scott Benson and her acclaimed mandolin-picking husband, Wayne Benson — reach back to the end of the 60s, when folk-rock artists and songwriters were dishing up tunes that appealed to bluegrass artists looking to expand their setlists beyond the tried and true classics of the music’s first generation. Written and first recorded by Paul Siebel, “Louise” may be best known in the luminous version Bonnie Raitt included on a 1977 album, Sweet Forgiveness, but it’s been “‘grassed up” every so often, though never more winningly than in Benson’s fresh take.

In their typically modest and nuanced fashion, Benson directs a listener not to their own stellar contributions to the track, but to the friends — both bluegrass veterans with lower profiles in recent years — who deliver “Louise”’s memorable melody and wistful story. “We've always been big fans of Keith Garrett,” notes Kristin. He's got such a warm vocal tone and always chooses a great way of delivering the song. We were excited to have him sing a couple and felt really lucky that he said yes.”

“Back in the early 1990s,” recalls Wayne, “I heard Bonnie Raitt's album, Luck of the Draw. After becoming a fan and going back to her earlier projects, I came across a live video with her version of ‘Louise.’ I always thought it would make a fun bluegrass song because of the chord progression, and I think Keith and Dustin [Pyrtle] sang it great.”

These accolades for their singers notwithstanding, listeners are likely to be equally won over by the sympathetic backing and vibrant solos from Benson’s colleagues — longtime friend and award-winning guitarist Cody Kilby (Travelin’ McCourys), Wayne’s IIIrd Tyme Out colleague, Kevin McKinnon (bass) and ace drummer Tony Creasman — and, of course, Wayne and Kristin themselves.

The great instrumentalists of bluegrass — a category to which the Bensons surely belong — will often confess that they find more satisfaction in backing a great singer than in any other aspect of playing. With “Louise,” Benson backs up that claim in convincing fashion.

About Benson
Benson is a collaborative effort between two of bluegrass music's most treasured instrumentalists: Wayne and Kristin Scott Benson. With decades of experience in top-tier bands, both have established themselves as stalwarts in the community. After years of paving separate musical paths, the two finally decided it was time to integrate their identities and create something new together. Benson is their first combined effort, despite having been married for over 20 years.

Wayne Benson is a 25-year veteran of the seven-time IBMA Vocal Group of the Year, Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out. He is on the short list of mandolin players who have signature models with Gibson Musical Instruments.

Kristin Scott Benson is a six-time IBMA Banjo Player of the Year and recipient of the Steve Martin Award for Excellence in Bluegrass and Banjo. She has been a member of the GRAMMY-nominated Grascals since 2008.