PREMIERE: Tui — Smoke Behind the Clouds

June 19, 2019

BLUEGRASS PRIDE EXCLUSIVE: Today is Juneteenth, a day which commemorates the liberation of the black enslaved populations throughout the former Confederate states on June 19, 1865. So we thought it would only be fitting to use this day to highlight and celebrate new music from Tui, featuring Bluegrass Pride's very own board member Jake Blount.

This particular song includes all of our favorite things: the preservation and promotion of diverse histories in string band music, queered lyrics, and (of course), beautiful acoustic instrumentation from these talented young old-time musicians. When asked about this particular tune, the band told us,

This song comes from Murph Gribble, John Lusk and Albert York. As a Black stringband from Tennessee, their music ties the threads of our two communities together. Lusk's smooth fiddling, Gribble's riotous three-finger banjo and their trading-off of melodic parts all set them apart from what we now consider the standard old-time sound. An argument could be made that they were an early bluegrass band; at the very least, they were on the cusp of it. We interpreted the tune in our own way, and adapted lyrics that originally come from Roy Acuff's version of the tune -- gender-bending where appropriate, of course.

We're so proud of these musicians, and of all the black roots musicians working to preserve and uplift this vital history. Be sure to support Tui by buying their album Pretty Little Mister when it's released on June 28 and go see one of their shows while they're on tour!

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