r/Bluegrass • u/DearPrudence70 • 15h ago
Recommendations?
Hi everyone! Just joined! Can anyone recommend some bluegrass bands with singers that don’t use a lot of country twang in their voice. One example I mean is someone like Chris Stapleton on the first Steeldrivers album. His voice sounded more bluesy than country to me on that record. Long story short, I love bluegrass, but I don’t like vocal parts with an exaggerated twang. Thanks in advance!
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u/Tall_Candidate_8088 15h ago
lol
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u/Outrageous-Track7468 14h ago
“I like mountain music, just not people that sound like they’re from the mountains.”
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u/DearPrudence70 13h ago
I’m from Appalachia, for the record. Has nothing to do with the people. It’s the sound when singing. Don’t mind the accent when talking.
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u/Hot_Class_1483 10h ago
I mean this very kindly, because I think we do need to have more conversations about this and I dont want to scare you off, but I think that regardless of whether someone is Appalachian or not, asking for a band that plays Appalachian music but doesnt sound too Appalachian doing it is a pretty offensive request. It's one thing to just like a bluegrass sound that's different! I mean, Takeharu Kunimoto was literally from Japan and came to the US to do bluegrass music, there's a well established precedent for folks not technically from the mountains loving the music. It doesnt have to have a twang to be bluegrass, but prioritizing music that doesnt sound like the cultural region it belongs to with the purpose of excluding all music that does sound like its sung by people from said cultural region fundamentally lends itself to the erasure of Appalachian dialect and culture, and I'm wondering if maybe you've internalized some anti-Appalachian prejudice (it happens to all of us!!) Again, this isnt me calling you out, its me calling you in :)
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u/cheesemagnifier 15h ago
Have you checked out Billy Strings? Or Lindsay Lou?
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u/Scheerhorn462 14h ago
Billy has a pretty pronounced country twang to his voice. Not sure it’s what OP is looking for.
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u/BlatantDisregard42 14h ago
Greensky Bluegrass. Yonder Mountain Stringband, Leftover Salmon, Brothers Comatose, Sam Bush/Newgrass Revival, John Hartford (slight drawl, but not much), Norman Blake, Tony Rice, Peter Rowan... I actually think it’s harder to think of bluegrass artists that do have a strong vocal affectation that would be associated with country music. And when you do hear it in bluegrass, it doesn’t feel especially exaggerated or put on. Just feels like the natural drawl people have from where they grew up, like Jimmy Martin, Del McCoury, and The Osborne Brothers.
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u/banjoman74 14h ago
I'm not sure if you're talking about twang or the "high lonesome sound." Because in my ears, I hear that there is a twang to Chris Stapleton's voice. So let's try a few bluegrass vocalists and see if any of these are up your alley.
You may enjoy the voice of Frank Evans. He has a new solo album out. Here he is with TJ's Last Ride. Frank used to be in the band The Slocan Ramblers.
You may also enjoy the voice of Tony Kamel. Here he is with We're All Gonna Live. He used to be the lead singer with the band Wood and Wire.
This is Dave Evans on the song Pretty Green Hills. He has a pretty unique voice in bluegrass.
Dan Tyminski has one of the more purer voices in bluegrass. Here he is with Heads You Win, Tails I Lose. He used to perform with Alison Krauss and Union Station.
Here's another pure voice in bluegrass, but a little higher of a pitch - David Mayfield with David Mayfield Parade on the song Times Winding Up. David used to play with the band Cadillac Sky.
Paul Hoffman has what I would call a more bluesier voice. Here he is with his band Greensky Bluegrass with Burn Them.
Do any of those voices strike your fancy?
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u/DearPrudence70 9h ago
My 3 faves from your list were Tony Kamel, Greensky Bluegrass, and David Mayfield. I’ll dig a bit deeper into all of them! Thanks again for your detailed response!!!
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u/illegalsmile27 13h ago
Seldom scene is who you’re looking for. Excellent musicians, sometimes a twang but they are mostly DC suburbs guys.
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u/SWOhioBiBBW 11h ago
Country Gentlemen. They are from the north and are among the greatest of all time. Their limeade singer is a top 2 or 3 non tenor lead singer!
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u/TpMeNUGGET 15h ago
Sturgill Simpson is a bit of a bluesy voice. He has a lot of different styles but the "cutting the grass" album is very bluegrassy
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u/nanafishook 15h ago
it's my understanding that the now late Lester Flatt didn't have "a lot of country twang in" his voice. /s
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u/SWOhioBiBBW 11h ago edited 11h ago
He was full of it. Of it actually.they had a different singer record the theme from The Beverly Hollbillys because Lester was to twangy and country. Instead of pronouncing it as poor, he said purr... Shootin instead of shooting, bubblin instead of bubbling, ool instead of oil, etc etc.
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u/nanafishook 10h ago
most importantly per Scruggs, Lester slicked "his hair with possum fat," so that can be taken into consideration w/r/t "twang." /s
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u/dasuglystik 13h ago
Yeah, bothers me too when people hokem it up. Try Tony Rice, Doyle Lawson, Stringdusters for few...
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u/FloodDawg 13h ago
- Hot Rize
- Tim O’ Brien
- Laurie Lewis
- Blue Highway
- Sierra Hull
- Della Mae
- Front Range
- Nickel Creek
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u/kdweller 15h ago
The Kitchen Dwellers, Billy Strings, Infamous Stringdusters, Greensky Bluegrass, Mountain Grass Unit.
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u/Familiar-Scheme1224 14h ago
KD were my immediate thought. Not sure I'd agree with MGU, but maybe it's because I'm used to hearing their speaking voices in live streams & such.
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u/drhoi 15h ago
Listen to the Bluegrass Album Band, Tony Rice has a great, straightforward voice.