Missy Raines & Allegheny - Love & Trouble
- The 615 Hideaway
- May 19
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 3
Missy Raines & Allegheny - Love & Trouble Stream/Buy Here
Missy Raines & Allegheny's new release Love & Trouble is an inspired bluegrass set which includes re-workings of traditional songs, contemporary covers and Missy Raines' originals. Following on the heels of 2024's Highlander, and guided again by producer Alison Brown, the new project showcases a band at the peak of its powers.
Love & Trouble opens with a driving trio of banjo, fiddle and mandolin on “Yanceyville Jail” and segues into “Claude Allen,” a veritable Appalachian ballad that the band discovered on a search through the Library of Congress archives. With dynamic support from banjoist Eli Gilbert and guitarist Ben Garnett, fiddler/vocalist Ellie Hakanson is featured on the Hazel Dickens classic “Scraps from Your Table,” a crowd pleaser from the band’s live shows and an homage to Dickens' 100th birthday this year. And, mandolinist Tristan Scroggins steps into the vocal spotlight on “Future on Ice,” a song recorded by Jimmy Martin more than 50 years ago about drinking away the sorrows of unrequited love, featuring special guest Deanie Richardson (Sister Sadie) on fiddle. The album’s first single, “Anywhere the Wind Blows,” was culled from the repertoire of The Good Ole Persons and penned by Kathy Kallick. Kallick and Laurie Lewis join Missy and Ellie on lead vocal and harmony duties on this driving re-arrangement. Missy comments: “Laurie and Kathy were among the first women to front their own bands and write songs and have influenced generations of musicians including both Ellie and me.”
Missy Raines is one of the most iconic musicians and band leaders in bluegrass music. She is the most awarded bass player in the history of the International Bluegrass Music Association and, together with her group Allegheny, she is a sought-after performer on the acoustic music circuit where she continues to inspire a generation of young women.
On Love & Trouble, Raines expands her exploration of traditionally-rooted bluegrass through a set of original songs, fresh covers and reworkings of traditional ballads. Teaming up again with producer Alison Brown, she shines a spotlight on the members of her touring band Allegheny on the new release: Tristan Scroggins (mandolin, vocals), Ellie Hakanson (fiddle, vocals), Ben Garnett (guitar, vocals) and Eli Gilbert (banjo, vocals).
“Raines continues to reach far beyond the confines of bluegrass with her inventiveness… Her roots remain distinctively bluegrass, while her originals and arrangements reflect her eclectic taste.” —Strings Magazine
“Raines is not only a superb bassist but also an excellent singer, with a matter-of-fact, low-key delivery, that’s sometimes hushed, sometimes seductive, sometimes channeling a simmering unease.” —New York Music Daily
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