New Music

Some quick info on an exciting new bluegrass artist and a new album by a Nowgrass favorite:

Sierra Hull is a very talented young Mandolin player who has gotten help from a ton of bluegrass heavy weights on her upcoming album, including Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Rob Ickes, Tony Rice and Dan Tyminski. More info on the album can be found here.

Abigail Washburn is a singer, songwriter and clawhammer banjo player who first got our attention with The Sparrow Quartet EP, then impressed again with 2005's The Song of the Traveling Daughter, an album that mixed folk and bluegrass influences with traditional Chinese music (she even sang one song in Chinese). Her new album reunites the Sparrow Quartet, a band that includes banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck, cellist Ben Sollee and fiddler Casey Driessen. It comes out May 20. The band is also playing at Bonnaroo this summer. The track "A Fuller Wine," from the upcoming album, can be found on her myspace page.