Huckleberry Tree

Featuring Tony Furtado, Scott Law (Piano Throwers, Darol Anger), Jon Neufeld (Jackstraw, Black Praire), Paul Brainard (Caleb Klauder, M.Ward, Richmond Fontaine), Sammy Lind (Foghorn Stringband), Scott Weddle (Amelia). ............. The beginnings of this album were born on the road when touring my last record, Little Cottonwood—cut live in a cabin at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Rockies where I grew up. Because of the simplicity and intimacy of that album, I quickly found on the road that the tunes were too quiet and too mellow for the farmers markets, cafes and street corners where we played. So at (and in between) these shows, I wrote material on the spot to help gather the space. And thus, Huckleberry Tree took its shape. There are other factors too that infused the writing, finishings and sound of Huckleberry Tree. There is a thriving old-time, roots music scene where I live in Portland, Oregon. And some of the country’s finest curators and keepers of this sound call it home. So as the writing of Huckleberry Tree matured, I embarked on countless hours of listening to pickers and players huddled in corners of smokey pubs playing their hearts out—seeding a re-appreciation, love and preservation of old mountain music. After months of this, I began assembling a crew I now call “The Great Salt Licks” to bring Huckleberry Tree to life. They are Sammy Lind of the Foghorn Stringband, Jon Neufeld of Jackstraw, Tony Furtado, Scott Law, Drew Shoals and Will Amend. With their help, we created a record that deconstructs and rebuilds the pieces that make up that American sound.