James Reams, Walter Hensley & The Barons of Bluegrass

From the CD Wild Card: In this return engagement, James Reams ("The Kentucky Songbird") and Walter Hensley ("The Banjo Baron of Baltimore") offer up, with the able collaboration of Jon ("Baltimore Jonny") Glik, Mark Farrell and Carl Hayano (gotta get those last two boys some nicknames), a strong hand of songs and tunes, some originals, some traditional, some under-recorded gems and some drawn from unexpected places. Cut in one wild weekend, with all the musicians in the same studio at the same time and not a Pro-Tool in sight. Presented to you with all the edges intact and all the excitement raw. The band's self-titled first album, released in 2003, was nominated by the International Bluegrass Music Association as one of only seven nominees for its Recorded Event of the Year award. Here's what Richard D. Smith wrote in Bluegrass Unlimited about that earlier album: "If you're tiring of the slick stuff and yearn for something straight-ahead, there's not a false bend or blend here." And if you're hungry for bluegrass music with more grit and less glitz, here's another heaping helping. James Reams guitar, lead vocals Walter Hensley banjo, 2nd guitar Mark Farrell mandolin, fiddle, baritone vocals Carl Hayano upright bass, tenor vocals Jon Glik fiddle, mandolin Reviews of their albums can be found at www.jamesreams.com, as well as links to information about Walter Hensley and about James's other band, James Reams & The Barnstormers. All CDs are available at www.jamesreams.com and the two most recent CDs are also available at CD Baby: www.cdbaby.com/jreams (for Troubled Times CD+DVD) www.cdbaby.com/jrwhtbob (for Wild Card)