The Steeldrivers (CD - 2008)

A fairly obvious recipe on paper is rendered grippingly powerful by singer-guitarist Chris Stapleton's baritone yowl and a band of fleet-fingered bluegrass pros (banjoist Richard Bailey, bassist/vocalist Mike Fleming, mandolinist/vocalist Mike Henderson, and fiddler/vocalist Tammy Rogers). A lot of records of this sort go for a similar gritty Americana thing, but this impressive debut pulls it off by spiking the traditional milieu with undeniable sex appeal, a serious rarity in bluegrass (listen to his smoldering harmonies with Rogers on the standout "Blue Side of the Mountain"). Fans took note--this record logged very impressive digital sales and snared both Grammy and International Bluegrass Music Association awards. minimize