It was Easter Sunday evening, and we had just finished off a dinner of lamb adobo server over garlic cheese grits. For the finishing touch, we had a slice of homemade bourbon pie. So, even though Easter was very different this year, we certainly didn’t miss having a good meal.
Note: The lamb recipe comes from one of our favorite restaurants in Sedona, AZ. If you want a copy, email Becky. It is a family favorite.
Watkins Family Hour
So, after eating, I went downstairs to the music room to listen to a little bluegrass for an after-dinner treat. It just seemed fitting. I was too full to bother with vinyl (you know, it does require finding the album, putting it on the turntable, and lowering the tonearm), so I opened Qobuz and discovered that there was a new Watkin’s Family Hour album, Brother, Sister, that had just been released on Friday.
I listened to the entire album without getting up, and I was disappointed when it ended. Brother, Sister is the second studio album from the sibling duo Sean and Sara Watkins. Both are successful artists on their own. I have loved Sara since her Nickle Creek days. I also listen often to her solo albums. Sean’s solo career spans 5 albums, but Brother, Sister finds them joining each other again for the first time since their self-titled release in 2015.
The recording quality and sound of this album was much better than I expected. The music is fantastic, and while much of it is straight bluegrass, some expands on bluegrass quite a bit. I will listen to this album often and highly recommend it.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Then, I searched Qobuz for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Will the Circle Be Unbroken album. I was surprised to see an album that I had forgotten was ever released, Will the Circle be Unbroken Volume 2. So I decided to listen to it, and again I listened to the whole album in one sitting, and this is a much longer album.
I often share about the original Will the Circle Be Unbroken album that was released in 1972, but I was blown away by how good Volume Two, released in 1989 is. The album follows the same concept as the band’s first Circle album. Volume Two is largely acoustic, bluegrass music instrumentation with a line-up of contemporary country guest stars that were more popular at the time, This included stars like Johnny Cash, Rosanne Cash, Emmylou Harris, Michael Martin Murphey, and Ricky Skaggs.
The flavor and interpretation of the music are different between Volume One and Volume Two. I slightly prefer the Volume One, but I don’t have to choose and neither do you. We can just enjoy both.
