Day: March 23, 2022

Funk band Lettuce announces new album Unify

Unify will be out June 3 and Unify World Tour kicks off March 24, 2022. Photo: Lettuce, used with permission.

Lettuce is the greasiest, funkiest band on today’s music scene. On June 3, the GRAMMY-nominated six-piece—Adam Deitch (drums), Ryan Zoidis (saxophone), Adam ‘Shmeeans’ Smirnoff (guitar), Erick ‘Jesus’ Coomes (bass), Nigel Hall (keyboards/vocals), Eric ‘Benny’ Bloom (trumpet)—will be delivering a whole host of new tunes to the world in the form of Unify, the eighth studio album from Lettuce and the third consecutive record made at Denver’s Colorado Sound Studios. It completes a loose trilogy starting with 2019’s GRAMMY-nominated Elevate, and continuing with 2020’s Resonate. Fans can expect the same tight, wildly-funky instrumentals Lettuce has been known for, but in the tightest form they have ever taken. This time around, the guys have gotten the stamp of approval from one of the genre’s most legendary icons, Mr. Bootsy Collins, himself, who can be heard singing on the track “Keep That Funk Alive.” (Lettuce, 2022)

Lettuce recently premiered “Gravy Train,” the first single from Unify, featuring a tightly evolved rhythm section, pin-point accurate horns, and a guitar-bass unison part not executed this well since Leo and George did it down in New Orleans all those years ago. “‘Gravy Train’ just has that classic Lettuce vibe,” says Smirnoff. “It’s one of those songs that’s timeless and could have shown up on any of our first albums. Give “Gravy Train” a spin right now at this link, pre-order or pre-save Unify ahead of its June 3 release right here.

Dealing with the pandemic, being in separate places, trying to survive without our best friends, without touring, not to mention the political divide in this country,” says Deitch. “We really needed to unify.” Zoidis recalls, “This album came together at a time when we were away from each other longer than we had been in years.” Although the band was able to do a lot of writing and pre-production from their respective home studios, they had not been in the same room or on the same stage together since their European tour was cut short in March 2021, so the first song on Unify captures the raw energy of a much-needed reunion at Colorado Sound Studios—though, that is not exactly where the story begins.

Beginning March 24 in St. Petersburg, Florida, Lettuce will take their brand new material out on the road, and across the pond, for the Unify World Tour. Between their U.S. leg and September’s Europe run, the band will hit some of the country’s most beloved festivals including Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, Sonic Bloom, and High Sierra. A full list of tour dates is below and ticket information is available online. 

Catch Lettuce on tour:
March 24 – St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live
March 25 – Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theatre
March 26 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
March 27 – Wilmington, NC – Greenfield Lake Amphitheater
March 30 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
March 31 – Baltimore, MD – Sound Stage
April 2 – Philadelphia, PA – Brooklyn Bowl
April 3 – Syracuse, NY – Westcott Theater
April 6 – Hartford, CT – Infinity Music Hall
April 7 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
April 8 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
April 9 – Portland, ME – State Theatre
April 20 – Patchogue, NY – Blue Point Brewing
April 21 – Albany, NY – Empire Live
April 22 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre
April 23 – Washington, DC – National Cannabis Cup
April 24 – Asbury Park, NJ – The Stone Pony
April 27 – St. Louis, MO – The Big Top
April 28 – Little Rock, AR – The Hall
April 29 – Jackson, MS – Duling Hall
April 30 – New Orleans, LA – The Joy Theater (with Soul Rebels)
May 7 – Mill Valley, CA – Mill Valley Music Festival
May 26-29 – Martinsville, VA – Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival
June 16-19 – Hummingbird Ranch, CO – Sonic Bloom Festival
June 19 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
June 23-26 – Rothbury, MI – Electric Forest Festival
June 24-25 – Swanzey, NH – Northlands Music & Arts Festival
June 30-July 3 – Quincy, CA – High Sierra Music Festival
August 11 – Cincinnati, OH – Taft Theatre
August 12 – Huber Heights, OH – Rose Music Center at The Heights
August 13 – Richmond, VA – Jam Packed Craft Beer & Music Festival
August 26 – Martha’s Vineyard, MA – Beach Road Weekend Festival
September 20 – London, UK – Scala
September 21 – Tourcoing, France – Le Grand Mix
September 23 – Paris, France – Billard L’alhambra
September 24 – Rouen, France – Le 106 club
September 26 – Frankfurt, Germany – Batschkapp
September 27 – Rotterdam, Netherlands – Bird
September 28 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso Noord
September 29 – Leuven, Belgium – Het Depot
September 30 – Berlin, Germany – Gretchen
October 2 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Pumpehuset
October 3 – Oslo, Norway – Cosmopolite Scene
October 4 – Jahanneshov, Sweden – Slaktkyrkan
October 5 – Gothenburg, Sweden – Jazzklubben Nefertiti
October 7 – Hamburg, Germany – Mojo Club
October 8 – Brno, Czechia – Groove Brno
October 9 – Vienna, Austria – Club Porgy & Bess
October 11 – Bern, Switzerland – Bierhübeli
October 12 – Pisa, Italy – Lumiere
October 13 – Rome, Italy – Monk Club
October 14 – Milano, Italy – Santeria Toscana 31
October 15 – Rovereto, Italy – Auditorium Melotti
October 17 – Stuttgart, Germany – Im Wizemann
October 18 – Mulhouse, France – Noumatrouff
October 20 – Barcelona, Spain – Sala La Nau
October 21 – Madrid, Spain – Sala Caracol
October 22 – Cenon, France – Le Rocher de Palmer

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Unify release date

The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys announce new LP Never Slow Down

The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys connect bluegrass past and present with Never Slow Down, due out March 25 via Smithsonian Folkways. Photo: The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, used with permission.

Necessity is what brought GRAMMY-nominated, IBMA Award-winning bluegrass group The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys together in the first place—and it is necessity that keeps them fueled today. Initially, a basic need for entertainment at an East Tennessee moonshine distillery brought the band’s original lineup together, but now, after miles and miles of touring and multiple albums recorded, their need is to continue connecting the past to the present, breaking new ground in the unknown future of the “high, lonesome sound.” The quintet symbolizes not only the tradition, legend, and lore that is bluegrass music, they possess a key trait of the ancient tones all too easily forgotten in the 21st century—rebellion. This spirit is at the center of their newest album, Never Slow Down, out March 25 on Smithsonian Folkways, which is also their first album featuring fiddler Laura Orshaw as an official member of the band. Taking on material by their heroes the Stanley Brothers, Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard, George Jones, and more, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys bridge the gap between the past and present, proving the eternal importance of bluegrass and making it accessible to all. (The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, 2022)

“We know what bluegrass is. We know the history. And we respect the history. But, we’re looking to expand the boundaries of bluegrass—that’s the truth of the matter,” says The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys’ lead singer and mandolinist, C.J. Lewandowski. “A good song is a good song. We want to honor the past, but we also want to do our own material—to have our own sound, and to play our own way.” American Songwriter premiered the lead single “The Blues Are Close at Hand,” calling the single “high-energy” and taking note of the band’s “skilled and respectful approach to bluegrass traditions.” Fans can click here to hear “The Blues Are Close at Hand” and pre-order or pre-save Never Slow Down ahead of its March 25 release at this link.

Never Slow Down also represents the latest chapter of The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys with the addition of fiddler Laura Orshaw as an official band member. Though Orshaw had made appearances on previous offerings from The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, her new full-time member status is front and center on Never Slow Down, whether it be taking the lead vocals on certain melodies or letting her intricate fiddle work shine through with its razor-sharp tone. “Having the fiddle in there really completes that signature lineup of what bluegrass music is,” Lewandowski says. “And with Laura, we’re able to open up all kinds of harmony structures, which gives each of us more opportunities to expand our palette of what we want to ultimately create and perform live.”

In signing with Smithsonian Folkways, the group has become a part of a nearly century-long legacy of musical celebration and preservation as they join the ranks of Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard, Del McCoury, Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, and many other innovators of previous eras of Bluegrass that have material in the label’s fabled catalog.

The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys are gearing up for their next, unwritten phase with an album release tour and spring festival engagements right around the corner, and carrying bluegrass into the future will always be their number one focus. “The beauty of bluegrass music is not just the tradition of it, but also its constant evolution,” Lewandowski says. “No matter what we do, we’re always going to be honoring something in some kind of way. And that because it’s just what we like to do—it’s part of every one of us in this band.”

Never Slow Down track list:
Missing Her Has Never Slowed Me Down
Where Grass Don’t Grow
Lonesome
The Blues Are Close at Hand
When Are You Gonna Tell Me?
Take My Ashes to the River
Little Glass of Wine
Ramblin’ Woman
Woke Up With Tears in My Eyes
Mason’s Lament
Old Time Angels

Catch The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys on tour:
April 9 – Bristol, VA – Bristol Spring Bluegrass Festival
April 23 – Oakboro, NC – Big Lick Bluegrass Festival
April 30 – Floyd, VA – Floyd Country Store
May 4 – Branson, MO – Silver Dollar City
May 5 – Branson, MO – Silver Dollar City
May 6 – Webster, KY – The Randall Barn
May 7 – Cincinnati, OH – Appalachian Festival
May 26 – McClure, VA – Dr. Ralph Stanley’s Hills of Home Bluegrass Festival

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