Jan 21, 2019
Missy Raines grew up in rural west VA deeply immersed in bluegrass culture. And when she started playing professionally in her collegiate years, she went for it with, as she tells me, no plan B but a life in the music she loved. Over a couple of decades as a side musician, she became a pioneer and a scene favorite, winning seven IBMA awards for her bass playing alone. In 2008, she made real a long-standing dream of starting her own band, which became a vehicle for her innovative fusion-minded composing and her mentorship of emerging young master musicians. In late 2018, Missy released her first album under her name alone, as it’s a songwriter’s project that adds to her musical world view. Also in this hour Irishman Danny Burns, a veteran songwriter, singer and sideman who’s been working hard at a music career for going on 20 years. And at the age of 37 he’s taken the radical step of...putting out a debut album. The project, North Country, is a wonderful new-grass collection with Celtic overtones and impressive songs and guest artists. So what took him so long? He’ll explain.