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“Wildflowers” Jonathan
Byrd’s CD features folk, Irish, blues and bluegrass
music, with clear guitar, dobro, mandolin and fiddle and Byrd’s
poetic lyrics. In “The Sparrow,” the Carrboro resident
touches on freedom and desire. “When I was a sparrow, flyin’ low,
I’d fill the wind wherever I go. When I was a fire in your
soul, whispered into prayer soft and low. Then I heard you callin’ me,
like a beacon on the sea.” Recorded in Chapel Hill with Byrd
and other North Carolina musicians, the 16-track CD includes the
traditional “Molly Dear,” “Ashe County Fair” and “Eli’s
Cotton Gin,” which the singer dedicates to farm workers. Byrd
won North Carolina’s Songwriter’s Co-op “Song of
the Year” in 2000. “Wildflowers” is $15. Visit
www.jonathanbyrd.com or call |
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“Freight Train and other North Carolina Folk Songs and Tunes” Fans of traditional American music can enjoy the complete reissue of Elizabeth Cotten’s “Freight Train and other North Carolina Folk Songs and Tunes.” Cotten’s deeply personal compositions and self-taught, upside-down style have made her one of the most original guitar and banjo players. Her immortal “Freight Train,” along with “Babe It Aint No Lie” and “Wilson Rag,” are included in this endearing classic. The CD, produced by Smithsonian Folkways, is $15. Visit www.folkways.si.edu or call (800) 410-9815. |
Three Bluegrass Albums "The Best of The Bluegrass Tradition" offers three albums: "Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians" (field songs first recorded in North Carolina and Virginia), "Banjo Jamboree" (features Eric Weissberg of "Dueling Banjos" fame), and "Bowling Green" (includes Erik Darling from "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"). $19.98 by Rykodisc. Visit www.rykodisc.com or call (888) 232-7385. |
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"Searching the Map for Mayberry" Simple living, whether in the fictional town of Mayberry or in the real town of Mount Airy, is the heart of musician Doug Reeve’s new acoustic, country-style CD, "Searching the Map for Mayberry." Reeves, who grew up in Mount Airy, and his band The Carolina Eagles, hopes its songs bring a smile to listeners’ faces. Titles such as "Ernest T—Don’t Throw That Rock at Me" and "The One Bullet Man" (about deputy Barney Fife) are a humorous bow to "The Andy Griffith Show." Another song he co-wrote with his 81-year-old aunt, "Growing Up On the Farm," recalls when you plowed with a mule and didn’t lock your doors. The 11-track CD is $12. Visit www.cdbaby.com or send $12, plus $3 for shipping and handling, to Mayberry Music, P.O. Box 442, Mount Airy, NC 27030. You can also buy the CD at Floyd’s City Barber Shop in Mount Airy. |
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"Small Truths" by Noah Paley Cape Hatteras resident Noah Paley’s
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