i think new river line knows there stuff. There music is driving and the memembers of the band are fine musicians and fine people. There banjo player plays a with us too adam collinsworth he is a one of thee best banjo pickers in th world and its hard to bet him.

To be honest, I had never heard of New River Line until I received their latest compact disc about a week and a half ago. I opened it, looked over the contents, just as I do with every other project that I receive. I was first taken when I noticed that the band had written all of the songs on the record, usually that is not a good thing unless you are the Blue Highways of the industry. When I listened to the record, however, I was nothing less than blown away. These songs are some of the best that you will find anywhere, at any level. Not only that, the musical and vocal talents displayed on the record are just as good as the material rendered. Did these guys just fall out of the sky or what? How can talent of this level go unnoticed? Well, if I am any judge of bluegrass music, unnoticed they will not be for long. With a little media assistance, New River Line will serve notice to the bluegrass music industry that some big names better be ready to make some room somewhere around the top of the heep.

Playing Time – 36:00 -- With only three years under their belts, this road-tested Kentucky bluegrass band may be chasing dreams, but they clearly have the talent to go far. Their second album release is a profound treatise of bluegrass comprehension with many standard themes – outlaws, cheating, a Civil War story, mining, a road song, the homeplace, and leaving blues. With all original material from Ronnie King (mandolin), Dave Carroll (guitar), and Jerry Chaney (dobro), New River Line has a sturdy repertoire that covers all the bluegrass bases. The rest of the band is Mike Parker (bass) and Josh Hymer (banjo). The quintet is joined by award-winning fiddler Ronnie Stewart, who also produced and helped engineer this project. The vocalists give us supple, agreeable deliveries. The instrumentalists present sparkling solos. Their overall production is top-notch, and New River Line gets extra credit for including brief notes about and lyrics for each song in the CD jacket. From Alexandria, Virginia, Ronnie King moved to Kentucky in 1991 to attend Eastern Kentucky University. Besides penning the title cut, he contributed and sings "My Brother Paul And Me" about two brothers on different sides of the battlefront and "Do You Think He'd Like My Style?," a contemporary story about a bankrobber. The rest of the band members hail from Kentucky. Dave Carroll’s songs have been recorded by The Lonesome River Band, Lou Reid and Carolina, Ernie Thacker and Route 23, Jeff Parker, and Blue Moon Rising. Jerry Wayne Chaney is getting more involved in songwriting, and his instrumental “Crazy Horse” is a high-stepper written because he felt that there needs to be more dobro tunes in the key of Em. Mike Parker comes from musical family. His father was a member of “Renfro Valley Barn Dance” for many years, and his brother Jeff plays with The Lonesome River Band. Banjo-player Josh Hymer is the newest member of New River Line. This is a formidable and energetic band with much knowledge, personality and talent. However, has bluegrass music gotten to a point that groups need something very unique to get noticed? At track 9, “Another Love Gone Bad,” Dave admits to writing this song near the end of recording because the band felt they needed a song that was just a little different than the other tunes on the record. The sweetly wistful remembrance is a tender sentiment. I like their new material, and it will certainly grow on you with repeated listens. Will it get them noticed? Will some of their songs get covered by others? If history is any indication, I’m certain of it. I sure hope so because this band and their captivating songs deserve the attention. They should continue taking risks by looking for some new themes to write catchy bluegrass songs about. By doing that and by capitalizing on their strong musicianship, they’ll create an expressive, enticing sound all their own down New River Line. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)