Uncut Grass "Live in Asheville" Review

Live In Asheville – self released (2022)
The JackTown Ramblers
It's my pleasure to announce that one of my favorite bluegrass bands is about to release a self produced live recording. Yes – all live! Four musicians around one microphone up on stage. No overdubs, no tracking, no second chance. Just the way music was meant to be performed. Especially bluegrass music. And you can hear it right from the start that the Ramblers feel right at home. They're in their element. Maybe it's because we all have been missing live shows so very much. But this recording really hits the spot.
With the release of their album 'Ramblin' On' last year this band set a high mark. With a great collection of songs, including well written original material, and a bandwidth of stylistic capabilities from swing and gypsy jazz over classic country and string band, to full-on hard driven bluegrass. So, it’s no surprise this is what you get from their live show and on this live recording. The record was recorded at the iconic Isis Music Hall in Asheville NC on January 22nd this year.
The band is comprised of Gabriel Wiseman on mandolin and vocals, Mike Ramsey bass and vocals, Shannon Leasure playing guitar and vocals and Brett Setzer on banjo and vocals. But like always it's not about the single musicians but the sum and the alchemy of an ensemble. If there is any group of musicians that deserve the designation of “band” then it's The JackTown Ramblers.
This set definitely provides three pillars with Bob Dylan's 'You Ain't Goin' Nowhere', Billy Joe Shaver's 'Georgia On A Fast Train' and John Hartford's 'Howard Hughes' Blues' from the milestone album Morning Bugle. And the whole well balanced performance ends with Lonzo & Oscar's 'Tickle The Tom Cat's Tail' – awesome. This band is mature and experienced on one hand but still young, fresh and curious on the other. You can hear it in every single track, how they continually amaze and surprise one another, all for the sake of the ensemble's production. And you certainly can feel the fun that these guys have pouring all their hearts into their show.
They manage to give classic George Strait songs their own distinctive note, as well as Django Reinhardt's 'Sweet Sue'. Even the gospel tune 'Paul And Silas'  by The Stanley Brothers from Good Old Camp Meeting Songs from 1962 is given new life. The JackTown Ramblers animate these vintage tunes with their own artistic mastery.
Make sure to check out this band. Try to catch them live, buy their record Ramblin' On and get your hands and ears on this new milestone: The JackTown Ramblers Live In Asheville!
https://www.jacktownband.com/


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