Since his apprenticeship some 45 years ago with Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass, roots music icon Peter Rowan has blazed trails across an unsurpassed range of musical territory. Now, with producer Alison Brown at the helm of his Compass Records debut, LEGACY, he revisits the style that launched his career.
Backed by his veteran touring Bluegrass Band (Jody Stecher, Keith Little, Paul Knight) and a handful of guests that include fellow Monroe graduate Del McCoury, Ricky Skaggs, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings and Tim O’Brien, Rowan delivers a hefty dose of inspired singing and traditionally-informed but fresh original songs that bear his unmistakable stamp. From the searing “The Family Demon” through the delicious “So Good” and the ominous drive of “Jailer Jailer,” LEGACY is a compelling set that reaffirms Rowan’s stature as an unsurpassed master of the music’s “ancient tones”—and its modern forms.
“His remarkable voice whirls like a shrill wind.” —Washington Post
“Whether it’s his stint as Bill Monroe’s guitarist, or a successful run with Old and in the Way, for Rowan, these moments—all the collaborations and events—add up to a collective legacy, and he’s paying tribute to it with his forthcoming album, appropriately titled, Legacy.” —The Boulder Weekly