Biography

Tony Holt and the Wildwood Valley Boys have been putting out some great music and original songs, since 1992. Throughout the years, there have been many band members pass through, but a consistent sound has always remained. Tony's lead vocals are among the best in bluegrass music and have a strong influence of country. As much as Tony can sound like his dad, Aubrey Holt, when he wants to, Tony has developed his own style and continues to sing some of the smoothest lead in bluegrass today. Aubrey joined the Wildwood Valley Boys, in 2005, after a ten year hiatus from music. Aubrey formed his own band, the Boys From Indiana, in 1973, along with family members Jerry and Tom Holt and Uncle Harley Gabbard. The Boys' had a strong run for some twenty-two years and played all over the United States and Canada, including a special Christmas pageant at the White House, in 1988. You can hear a strong influence from the Boys From Indiana's music in the Wildwood Valley Boys music, but Tony has found a way to bring his own stylings into his originals, as well as some of the Boys' classics and has quietly built a solid following over the past twenty-three years.

"Hymns From Wildwood Valley" is the latest evidence of this, which is a compilation of thirteen original and classic Gospel songs sang and played in the Bluegrass style. Tony and the boys have included a great variety of music on this effort. The current lineup of the Wildwood Valley Boys includes banjoist Jeremy Blankenship, mandolinist Daniel Martin, bassist Mark Poe, and of course, Tony Holt and Aubrey Holt on guitars. This project includes special guest Michael Cleveland on fiddle and Glenn Gibson on resophonic guitar. This lineup may be the strongest since the inception of the Wildwood Valley Boys. They seem just as much at home on the barn-burner "I'm Makin' My Way" as they do on the original Aubrey Holt ballad "Lost Soul". This band is well polished and versatile and this project lets it shine through. The brilliant work of Mike Cleveland on fiddle and the tasteful dobro work of Glenn Gibson certainly enhances that versatility.

One of the most noticeable consistencies between the Wildwood Valley Boys and the Boys From Indiana is the close family harmonies. There's good reason for this. Aubrey was the lead and tenor voice of the Boys From Indiana. Tony is the lead voice of the Wildwood Valley Boys, but has a very similar tone and quality to Dad's voice. At 75 years old, Aubrey is still singing strong tenor, just as he has done for the past (nearly sixty) years of his career. Some of Aubrey's earliest recordings date back to the mid-fifties when he and Uncle Harley Gabbard were barely out of high school and already busy creating their vocal style that would one day grow into one of the most recognizable sounds in bluegrass music. The Wildwood Valley Boys can handle trios, duets, and quartets all with ease. The opening cut, "I Will Not Fear", written by Tom Holt (formerly of the Boys From Indiana), features the WWVB trio. Jeremy Blankenship provides a steady and warm baritone to round out the trio. "Way Up On The Mountain" is a song that was originally recorded by the Louvin Brothers, now featured here as the duet of father and son Aubrey Holt and Tony Holt. Again, the boys follow each other without flaw. "Old Time Religion Working In My Heart" is an Aubrey Holt original, which features that old Flatt and Scruggs-style quartet. Mandolinist Daniel Martin chimes right in with rock-solid bass vocals that are eerily reminiscent of Uncle Harley Gabbard.

The songwriting of Aubrey Holt has become legendary. With a catalog of songs well into the hundreds and still growing, Aubrey has secured his place as one of the all-time great Bluegrass and Country songwriters. He's had his songs recorded by the likes of Alison Krauss, Blue Highway, Cherryholmes, Longview, the Grascals, and Feller and Hill. This album proves to be some of his finest work. When I first heard "Stairway of Gold", I assumed it was an old Hank Williams song and sounded very familiar. I was almost in disbelief when I found out that it was indeed written by Aubrey many years ago. The influence of Hank Williams can be heard in many of Aubrey's songs, but "Stairway of Gold" may be the best example of a timeless classic that is in the same vein as a classic "Hank song". "The Kingdom of Heaven", just like "Stairway of Gold", was written and recorded over forty years earlier by Aubrey Holt on the debut recording of the Boys From Indiana. These songs are great examples of music that needs to be heard by today's generation and Tony Holt and company have done a great job re-creating these classics.

I believe "Hymns From Wildwood Valley" may be the best effort yet from Tony Holt and the Wildwood Valley Boys. The song selection, musicianship, vocals, and songwriting are as strong as anything currently being played on bluegrass radio. I believe Tony Holt is making a statement with this project....a statement that after all these years, the Wildwood Valley Boys are alive and well and neither Tony, nor Aubrey, have any intentions of laying down their old guitars just yet. And for the sake of countless Bluegrass and Gospel music fans around the world, we can be glad that they will continue turning out some of the best traditional-Bluegrass and Gospel music anywhere.