Lonesome River Band has been one of the most popular and influential acts on the bluegrass festival and concert circuit since the release of their breakout CD, Carrying The Tradition, back in 1991. That band included current LRB band leader Sammy Shelor, as well as Dan Tyminski, Ronnie Bowman and Lonesome River Band founder, Tim Austin. They recorded a second project for Rebel Records, Old Country Town, before Tyminski accepted a gig ith Alison Krauss
& Union Station, and Austin decided to leave the road to focus on his recording studio, Doobie Shea.

Like any band whose success has endured for 15 years, Lonesome River Band has seen some very talented musicians come and go. One readily thinks of acts like The Country Gentlemen, Seldom Scene, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, or JD Crowe & the New South as examples of successful bluegrass bands whose lineup has undergone a number of complete changes over the years, while still retaining the distinctive sound that brought them their success. As LRB continues to record and perform bluegrass music with both critical and commercial success, their name deserves mention in that list as well.

During this last 15 years, Sammy has enjoyed performing in Lonesome River Band with such stellar musicians as Kenny Smith, Don Rigsby, Ron Stewart, Rickie Simpkins and Mike Hartgrove - each of whom has moved on to pursue other musical endeavors. With each personnel change, Sammy has looked for a new musician who could not only fill a spot that had been left vacant, but also bring in an artist with something to add of their own.

Such was the case when Brandon Rickman and Jeff Parker joined in 2001. Each had some big shoes to fill, but Sam was convinced that they were up to the task. Fiddler Mike Hartgrove left IIIrd Tyme Out to join LRB at the same time, along with bassist Irl Hees, and Sammy’s confidence was rewarded when the reviews started coming in for their first recording with that band, Window Of Time. More changes were afoot, however, and John Wade soon replaced Hees on bass, and recorded with the band on their Head On Into Heartache CD.

in 2005, another major shakeup occurred when Hartgrove left to join up with Doyle Lawson, and Rickman chose to give up touring for the sake of his young family. Sammy knew that he could count on the contributions of Jeff Parker on mandolin and tenor vocals, and decided that what he wanted to do with the next generation of Lonesome River Band was to return to the aggressive, four piece sound that had brought them to prominence nearly 15 years earlier.

This meant that each member of the band needed to be a strong picker as well as a distinctive singer, and Sam quickly hired his old friend Barry Berrier on bass. Barry had made his name in bluegrass during many years singing lead and playing guitar with The Lost & Found, and jumped at the chance to work with Sam In Lonesome River Band. That left the guitar slot still open, and Shannon Slaughter came onboard after initially being hired to fill in during the search for a new guitar man.

When this newest version of Lonesome River band recorded a five song demo in January 2006, Sam was immediately struck by the similarities between the new group and the band he joined back in 1990. “These guys have the same muscular sort of rhythm we had back then, and our trio singing is just as strong. Like the early days, we fit together well from the start, and each player quickly finds what needs to be played on every song.” I am as excited about this sound as I have been with any previous edition of LRB, and can’t wait to get out in front of the fans at festivals this spring and show ‘em what we can do!”

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