Where The Soul Never Dies: Celebrating 80 Years of The Stanley Brothers

CD & "Bluegrass Blue" Swirl Vinyl LP

FEATURING: Billy Strings and Drew Emmitt • Dolly Parton and The First Ladies of Bluegrass • Jamey Johnson and Shawn Camp • Jim Lauderdale and The Travelin’ McCourys • Willie Nelson and Sierra Ferrell • Ralph Stanley II and Tim O’Brien • Nitty Gritty Dirt Band • Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell • Dierks Bentley and Della Mae • Steve Martin and Ed Helms • Kristin Scott Benson, Gena Britt, Alison Brown • I’m With Her

More than eighty years ago in the hills of southwestern Virginia, Carter and Ralph Stanley (The Stanley Brothers) began forging a sound that has endured among fans and shaped generations of roots musicians. What they created is a cornerstone of bluegrass and old-time music, so elemental that it’s hard to imagine the genre without them. Yet the Stanleys remain far less known outside bluegrass than their influence warrants; closing that gap is what Where the Soul Never Dies was made to do. 

Producers Alison Brown and Garry West assembled an eclectic cast from bluegrass and Americana, pairing bluegrass’s next generation with roots voices who grew up on these songs, allowing new listeners to discover the Stanleys through the music itself at a moment when bluegrass is experiencing a genuine resurgence. 

Standout tracks include Billy Strings and Drew Emmitt on “Born to Lose,” followed by Dolly Parton and The First Ladies of Bluegrass (Alison Brown, Becky Buller, Sierra Hull, Molly Tuttle, Missy Raines) on a rearranged “Bound to Ride.” Willie Nelson and Sierra Ferrell duet on “I’ll Fly Away,” Jamey Johnson and Shawn Camp bring their ache to “Rank Strangers to Me,” and Ralph Stanley II joins Tim O’Brien on “Mother No Longer Awaits Me at Home.” And Steve Martin and Ed Helms, with Brown, reimagine the classic Stanley Brothers routine “How Far to Little Rock” as “Pardon Me, Stranger.” 

The Stanley Brothers will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on October 18, 2026. Where the Soul Never Dies arrives two days earlier, on October 16, sending them into that ceremony with their songs freshly alive. 

1. If I Lose – Billy Strings and Drew Emmitt
2. Bound to Ride – Dolly Parton and The First Ladies of Bluegrass (Alison Brown, Becky Buller, Sierra Hull, Missy Raines, Molly Tuttle)
3. Rank Strangers to Me – Jamey Johnson and Shawn Camp
4. Ridin' That Midnight Train – Jim Lauderdale and The Travelin’ McCourys
5. I’ll Fly Away – Willie Nelson and Sierra Ferrell
6. Mother No Longer Awaits Me at Home – Ralph Stanley II and Tim O’Brien with The Clinch Mountain Boys
7. Think of What You’ve Done – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with Alison Brown
8. Little Birdie – Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell
9. How Mountain Girls Can Love – Dierks Bentley and Della Mae
10. Pardon Me, Stranger – Steve Martin and Ed Helms with Alison Brown
11. Ralph’s Banjo Special – Kristin Scott Benson, Gena Britt, Alison Brown
12. Going Up Home to Live in Green Pastures – I’m With Her (Aoife O’Donovan, Sarah Jarosz, Sara Watkins)