The Larry Stephenson Band recently released a 20th Anniversary CD commemorating the band’s twenty years in business. Stephenson, a mandolinist and award-winning vocalist, has been a professional musician for over thirty years but his current band was formed in 1989. The numerous guest performers on the album include country artists Connie Smith, Marty Stuart and Ricky Skaggs and bluegrass musicians Del McCoury and Kristin Scott Benson.

Listening to sound clips, I immediately begin to imagine an old cabin floor with all the chairs pushed back, dancers twirling each other around and lots of laughter going on. This record begins as a mountain folk dance, takes a loop through a slow gospel sound, and gets back on the dance floor. Very enjoyable, and a good snapshot of bluegrass and country blues. It even has two variations of one song, one being more on the bluegrass side and the other the country version. Thanks to the Mandolin Cafe for bringing this new release to my attention.

You can find an interview with Stephenson on the making of the album in last year’s Bluegrass Blog archives, and a current story on the same site about Stephenson’s new music label.