All great music serves a purpose, but for the members of Appalachian Road Show, their collective goal transcends mere entertainment. The award-winning acoustic outfit is on a mission to illuminate the history, challenges, and rewards of life in that storied region and celebrate the spirit of the Appalachian people who call it home. They did so on their sophomore album Tribulation and are back again on the aptly titled Jubilation, a colorful song-filled journey chronicling not just the past but the present.
The album begins with a voice synonymous with Appalachia as the legendary Dolly Parton introduces the project, gently reminding listeners: With faith and resilience, Appalachians have endured cold, dark winters, punishing work and hunger, floods and fires. But pride in this place and our people endures, even into the modern age. Every loss is mourned, and the sunrise of every new day inhaled as a blessing from God. For we know that for every dark valley on our journey, we will arrive on another peak. Every tribulation is answered, in time, with Jubilation.
Parton’s narration sets the tone for the tales that follow. Jubilation includes revivals of timeless tales alongside poignant new songs and covers of Bob Dylan, Pokey LaFarge and Led Zeppelin. Band members Barry Abernathy (banjo, nosehorn, whistles, vocals), Todd Phillips (bass, bowed bass, vibraslap, vocals), Zeb Snyder (guitars, slide guitar, vocals), Jim VanCleve (fiddle, vocals) and Darrell Webb (mandolin, octave mandolin, banjo, vocals) masterfully bring each song to life with skillful musicianship and pure passion.
“Our last project, Tribulation, was a heavier album. It was also released into the teeth of a global pandemic and so, it became very timely and even more poignant,” VanCleve shares. “So, on Jubilation what we wanted to do was to rise up from that heaviness of spirit, to overcome the spirit of trials and of tribulation, become triumphant, to step forward into light, and to move towards a spirit of jubilation. It mirrors the spirit of the Appalachians and the fortitude of the people of that region, and we believe, that of all humanity. Overcoming trials and tribulations is woven right into the people and it’s woven right into the music as well, so it felt like the obvious next chapter for us. It felt like time to turn the page. Perhaps we all feel the need to move towards light after such a dark and heavy season.”
Track List
1. In Time, Jubilation
2. Blue Ridge Mountain Baby
3. La La Blues
4. Tonight I'll See You In My Dreams
5. Kidder Cole
6. Lonesome Road To Travel
7. Graveyard Fields
8. Troubled Life
9. Hard Times In The Mines
10. Gallows Pole
11. Shadow Of The Pines
12. Only A Hobo
13. Brother Green
Release Date: December 7, 2022