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Reeltime Travelers The band formed three
years ago when four folks crossed paths in historical country music town, Johnson
City, Tennessee, the site of the Ralph Stanley’s first recording with the
Stanley Brothers, and today’s Bluegrass and Country Music Program at East
Tennessee State University. Singer/songwriter guitarist Martha Scanlan and mandolinist
Thomas Sneed moved to the heart of Appalachia from West of the Mississippi after
hearing about the region’s music while playing bluegrass in Europe. Fiddler
and dancer Heidi Andrade came to the region from California with her husband,
banjoist Roy Andrade, a native of Asheville, North Carolina. In the winter of
2002 Bristol, Tennessee native and bassist Brandon Story joined the band. Even
before the Reeltime Travelers played together, each had a love for mountain music
and a passion to learn the stories behind it. They continue to do fieldwork,
interviewing old musicians, uncovering forgotten tunes, and in their shows and
children’s workshops, passing along the traditions they’ve collected.
The second half of 2002 finds the Travelers busier than ever, playing Bill Monroe’s Bean Blossom Festival, the Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival, the High Sierra Music Festival, and the Northern Rockies Folk Festival. The International Bluegrass Music Association has chosen the Reeltime Travelers as a 2002 Showcase band. Two of Martha Scanlan’s original songs were recently selected as finalists in the prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at Merlefest. Judges including Gillian Welch and Jim Lauderdale awarded “Little Bird of Heaven” first place in the bluegrass category and “Hallelujah” second place in the country category. Both songs are on the Traveler’s new record, “Livin’ Reeltime, Thinkin’ Old-Time,” which was produced by Grammy nominated Bob Carlin, known for his banjo work in the John Hartford String Band. When time permits, the Reeltime Travelers also play with National Heritage Award-winning fiddler Ralph Blizard, Ed Snodderly, singer/songwriter and Soggy Bottom Boy in the film Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, and Old-Time Music guru John Herrmann, whose independent label Yodel-Ay-Hee has released the band’s first two records. The Reeltime Travelers bring five individual voices together to mine a common
well of American roots music. Traveling the country, keeping old tunes alive
and expanding the canon of Old-time songs, the Reeltime Travelers show a reverence
for tradition while creating their own Old-Time Reeltime Americana music. |
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