This Bozeman sextet has an album out with nine originals and two covers, playing what they call “paisley grass.” The tunes are a mix of country and bluegrass styles, from barnburners to slower country-folk numbers. Members’ ages span a bunch of years, from 19-year-old Kelly Hagerman, guitar player and singer, to 73-year-old Bill Devine, Dobro and vocals.
In between are Nathan Fortier on mandolin and vocals, and Shawna and Catey Lockhart on stand-up bass and vocals, respectively. Guest Mike Parsons provides banjo and fiddle here, and Amy Leach also contributes fiddle. Hagerman and Fortier wrote the originals, and each sings lead on his compositions.
The band storms in right off the bat with Fortier’s “Silver Bullet,” a bouncy bluegrass tune with sawin’ fiddle and roaring instrumental breaks. Devine plays some mean Dobro by combining wound-up unison high and low notes. Catey Lockheart sings “Red Clay Halo,” written by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch; it’s a jumpy country dancer with an authentic backwoods feel.
Hagerman’s “Hopin’” is bluesy, and Hagerman and Fortier’s “Beartrap” is a zesty, minor-keyed bluegrass number with lots of nifty pickin’.
Gordon Lightfoot’s well-known nugget, “Cold on the Shoulder,” gets a snappy, shuffly treatment that boasts a silky fiddle break. And “Montana Moonshine” is a sleepy, laid-back blues piece that opens with pulsing bass. The recording closes out with “Havin’ a Good Time.” These guys know how to get you up on your feet and onto the dance floor.
Visit the band at facebook.com/dirtfarmers.
– Mariss McTucker