Fireside Collective Returns with "Back to Caroline"

Fireside Collective is known for its distinctive blend of bluegrass, roots rock and funk-influenced, danceable rhythms, but the Asheville, North Carolina-based quintet can lay down a convincing straight-ahead slice of contemporary bluegrass when it chooses, and their latest single, "Back To Caroline," makes the point with equal measures of heartfelt sincerity and instrumental skill.  

The song, written by singer and resonator guitarist Tommy Maher, reflects personal experience, yet speaks to feelings for home and loved ones that can beset all who find themselves separated from them as a result of work life's demands. "Everyone at some point will miss someone while they're away, and that's just what this tune is about," Maher says. "I tried to incorporate the storytelling aspect of some of my favorite bluegrass songs and put an old-time mountain bounce around it, which the banjo and mandolin captured very well on the recording. It's supposed to leave you feeling upbeat about a sad feeling we all know; loneliness and longing for home."

Driven by Alex Genova's stout yet inventive banjo and Jesse Iaquinto's sparkling mandolin,
"Back To Caroline" reveals how tenacious the bluegrass roots of Fireside Collective's music continue to be - and marks one end of the spectrum of music they offer on Elements, the full-length project they released just as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning to shut down the live performances that were earning the band a growing number of fans across the country.  

With one foot in the past and the other planted firmly in today's world, Fireside Collective's "Back To Caroline" is a late summer offering that speaks eloquently of returning home to what matters.

Listen to "Back To Caroline" HERE.

 

 

Tags : Fireside Collective "Back to Caroline" fireside collective bluegrass