April 12, 2023 — Mountain Home Music Company congratulated Lonesome River Band on their No. 1 album Heyday and two No. 1 songs — “Mary Ann Is A Pistol”and “Heyday” — giving them plaques to commemorate the achievement. The album was No. 1 on Bluegrass Unlimited’s chart and the songs each reached the top of Bluegrass Today’s monthly chart.
As a collection, Heyday served to introduce new members of the bluegrass powerhouse and to extend the group’s influential legacy even further. Few bluegrass groups have been around for forty years, and even fewer have been more popular, more widely admired or more influential for as long as Lonesome River Band. By the early 1990s, they were winning key awards and topping the charts, and while members have come and gone, the quintet’s reputation for crafting essential, archetypal bluegrass has only grown with each passing year.
The first No. 1 from the album, “Mary Ann Is A Pistol,” is sung by new mandolinist Adam Miller and is a sly subversion of stereotypes, first recorded over a quarter of a century ago and reclaimed from the record collection of bandleader and award-winning banjo player Sammy Shelor. Written by long-time Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Dennis Linde, who penned the jovially transgressive Chicks hit,“Goodbye Earl,” it’s an extended appreciation of a woman who’s “been a tomboy since she could walk,” shows no interest in turning more conventional, and still earns the unstinting admiration of its country boy narrator.
The title track and second No. 1 shortly followed, with its wistful reminiscence cast in the voice of a small town that’s “still sleepy but…still alive.” Here, Miller (mandolin) is featured once more on lead and fiddler Mike Hartgrove and guitarist Jesse Smathers provide subtle, sympathetic solos.
Says Shelor of the album and songs’ radio success, “I’m not sure what to say really. We are just so thankful that Bluegrass fans and radio DJs like what we do and that great songwriters are willing to let us represent their songs.”
Listen to Heyday HERE.
About Lonesome River Band
Since its formation decades ago, Lonesome River Band continues its reputation as one of the most respected names in Bluegrass music. Five-time International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Banjo Player of the Year, and winner of the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass, Sammy Shelor leads the group that is constantly breaking new ground in acoustic music. With stellar lead vocalists and impressive instrumental talents, the band seamlessly comes together, performing the trademark sound that fans continue to embrace.