Bluegrass band Unspoken Tradition once again delves into the intricacies of human emotion, this time focusing on communal experiences of alienation and loss. Written by North Carolina artist John Cloyd Miller, renowned for his adeptness at infusing contemporary work with a vintage aura, “Weary Town” serves as a reflection of the band’s own origins in a small North Carolina town.
Singer and guitar player Audie McGinnis says: “Our hometown was a great place to grow up. It thrived for decades because of a trucking company founded by some of its citizens. Many locals found work there; it was almost analogous to a mining town. That trucking company was bought by a larger corporation that ultimately closed the terminal, and the town became a shell of its former self in a matter of a few years. It hurts in a way only bittersweet nostalgia can to know that the town where I made so many memories exists in name only.”
The song unfolds with McGinnis’ poignant vocals accompanied by the plaintive strumming of an acoustic guitar and the mournful resonance of a bowed bass, setting a reflective and melancholic tone from the outset. Departing from traditional bluegrass norms, the track eschews instrumental solos in favor of a rich blended sound, incorporating unison passages, subtle shifts in tempo and mood, and intricately layered instrumental arrangements.
“When John sent us this one,” McGinnis adds, “it just ripped at my heart, because it makes the struggle and loss of a fading town so real. ‘What’s it gonna take for us to hold on?’ Iris Dement couldn’t have written a better love letter to a fading town!”
Buy Weary Town.
Author: World Music Central News Room
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