***Sugar Hill Records to Release Wood and Stone from Tara Nevins – Street
Date May 3, 2011**
listen to a track from the new release at www.facebook.com/TaraNevins
Wood And Stone Tracks -
1. Wood And Stone
2. All I Ever Needed
3. You've Got It All
4..You're Still Driving That Truck
5. Who Would You Tell
6. Snowbird
7. Nothing Really
8. What Money Cannot Buy
9. The Wrong Side
10. Stars Fell On Alabama
11. Down South Blues
12. Tennessee River
13. The Beauty Of days Gone By
Celebrated Donna the Buffalo artist releases introspective solo album
produced by Larry Campbell with guests including Levon Helm, Jim
Lauderdale, Allison Moorer, Teresa Williams and more…
Nashville, TN—March 7, 2011 – American roots traditionalist Tara Nevins
releases an exploration of her own heritage, musical and otherwise, in
Wood and Stone, her first solo album since Mule to Ride in 1999. Wood and
Stone showcases her ever-evolving repertoire as she journeys both back to
her own “roots” and head-long into new territory.
Fans of Nevins from her 21-year tenure with Donna the Buffalo are familiar
with her versatile talents; she shares the vocal and songwriting
responsibilities for the band and is a stellar musician on fiddle, guitar,
and accordion. (She plays a mean scrubboard too.) Prior to DTB, Nevins was
a founding member of the all-female, old time/Cajun band The Heartbeats.
(They join her on two tracks here as well.) Wood and Stone delivers the
musical expertise fans have come to expect and surprises with new
perspectives.
“This album is personal and sort of revelatory,” Nevins says. “It’s an
expression of recent emotional discovery within relationships lost and
found, and how knowing the core of who we are is the real deal. There were
so many elements I wanted to explore—to combine all the pieces of my
personal musical puzzle--and then have it come together in a cohesive
whole. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Larry
Campbell. I am honored to have had him both produce and play on my record.
He's an amazingly talented and soulful musician. He has a very natural,
down-to-earth approach and an instinctual insightfulness that I really
appreciate; he really got what I was after. The whole experience was
inspiring and challenging in a very positive way.”
Campbell is a much-sought-after musician/producer renowned for his work
with Bob Dylan and still rolling from the success of Levon Helm’s two
Grammy- winners, Dirt Farmer and Electric Dirt, which he produced. He
found Nevins’s project immediately compelling. “I liked the feel of the
project-- her combination of old-time mountain music and original
songwriting—and I was taken with Tara’s unique talent; she’s got a
distinctive voice—there’s a kind of honesty that shines through.”
The record kicks off with the title cut “Wood and Stone,” and that
“honest” element is readily apparent in this touching tribute to home and
family. Old-timey acoustics are quickly joined by drums and steel guitars
as Nevins sings about “the better part of me” regarding her upbringing and
early influences. “It’s got that magical blend of music and lyrics,”
Campbell says of it, “and it really paints a picture of where she comes
from.”
Ten of the thirteen tracks are originals, and Nevins’s complexity gets a
broad stage. She dispenses wit and wisdom with an atypical take on love
and relationships through gritty songs such as “You’ve Got It All” and
“You’re Still Driving That Truck,” then turns to wrenching hearts with
songs like “Snowbird” (accompanied by Jim Lauderdale), a beautiful
metaphorical ballad about the pain of loving someone unable to truly give
back, and “Tennessee River,” a haunting, gripping song about the
stranglehold love can have over a person’s whole existence. “Stars Fell on
Alabama” sounds like it fell from her heart and pen too, but Nevins has
the capacity to take a well-known standard like this, change the melody,
and perform it so ingenuously that it fits in seamlessly to the whole
groove of the record.
The record is “framed” by another nostalgic piece, “The Beauty of the Days
Gone By” (by Van Morrison), bringing the record full-circle and serving as
a sort of catharsis for the dark tone of “Tennessee River”. “I wanted to
end the record with it,” Nevins explains, “because I love the sentiment of
the song and it’s kind of like ‘the sun always comes back out’ kind of
thing. We grow and learn and take our relationships with us for better and
for worse and that’s life in all its beauty and glory.”
Nevins’s rare blend of enormous talent coupled with genuine down-home
humbleness has won the hearts of fans and colleagues alike. “Tara has this
worldly awareness combined with a fragile innocence,” Larry Campbell
notes, “which makes her songwriting and music very accessible…very
appealing.” Wood and Stone is sure to add to that appeal.
More information is available at www.facebook.com/TaraNevins and
