Renée Fleming and Béla Fleck bring a classical soprano and banjo into the same folk-song setting
Guests include Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Jerry Douglas, Sierra Hull, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O’Donovan
For fans of: Béla Fleck, Alison Krauss, Rhiannon Giddens, contemporary interpretations of traditional song
The Fiddle and the Drum begins with an unlikely but productive pairing: Fleming’s classical voice and Fleck’s banjo. The ensemble keeps the arrangements close to folk and bluegrass, giving familiar songs room to change shape around the singing. Dolly Parton joins Fleming on “In the Pines,” Vince Gill adds harmony to “The Scarlet Tide,” and Jerry Douglas’s Dobro supports the title track, Joni Mitchell’s anti-war song. Across the ten selections, the interest lies in how naturally these different musical backgrounds meet.
“an elegant reimagining of these songs”
— Henry Carrigan, Folk Alley
Listen: The Fiddle and the Drum (feat. Jerry Douglas)
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