The Lonesome River Band’s latest single released last Friday, and it’s a song that transports you right into the middle of a vibrant, bustling dance hall on the Carolina/Virginia line.
Square Dance Friday Night kicks off with Mike Hartgrove’s fiddle rocking everyone in like he’s signaling that the dancing is fixing to begin, while the lyrics that follow swirl with images of stringband scenes and mountain characters. Mandolin chucks emulate the shuffle of dancers’ feet, and the banjo rolls out the rhythm keeping them steady, and guiding them through each step and swing.
Guitar player Jesse Smathers, who wrote Square Dance Friday Night says…
“That song was inspired by things that I saw at fiddler’s conventions, square dance halls, VFW halls, and fire halls. I live in Floyd, Virginia, where every Friday night, we have a jamboree, and they do square dance calling. And of course, where I grew up in Eden, North Carolina, there were all sorts of dance halls, so it was just a big part of what I heard and played growing up.”
Not only did the sights of those halls provide inspiration, but the sounds did as well. You can hear nods to Round Peak raising and the musical influences of the Virginia and Carolina line woven into the tune and the story.
Jesse speaks to this saying…
“Round Peak style has a direct influence on that, and old-time stringband music has a direct influence on a lot of what I write, play, and sing. Something I have always wanted to do with music I make, and the music I make with the Lonesome River Band, is not draw a hard line between bluegrass and old-time; it’s all stringband music. Where we live, it’s just in us to incorporate that, and it’s not something that we think about, necessarily. It just happens.”
The cut features Sammy Shelor on banjo, Mike Hartgrove on fiddle, Jesse Smathers on guitar and lead vocals, Adam Miller on mandolin and harmony vocals, Cameron Keller on bass, and a little bit of country flare courtesy of Rod Riley and his telecaster.
Square Dance Friday Night on Mountain Home Music is available for listeners on all major streaming platforms, and to broadcasters via AirPlay Direct.
