The High Fidelity Hills & Home (CD)

(Rebel Records) 14 tracks - digisleeve

Many folks remember the great bluegrass records from the 1950s and '60s. The power and soul of that music has won the hearts of people across the globe. Few bands have come along in recent years that directly draw their influence from that classic era of the music's history.

 High Fidelity is a rising group whose love and devotion to that music is unsurpassed. The name alone says it all: HIGH FIDELITY. How many record albums have you seen from the '50s and '60s that bear those words? Herein lies the heart of what this group of young performers is all about. To all but the most dyed-in-the-wool bluegrass and old-time music devotees, the music on the band's Rebel Records debut Hills and Home will come as a revelation.

 The group avoids the well-known war horses associated with the likes of the Flatts & Scruggses, the Stanleys and the Monroes. Instead, the band mines gems from lesser known - but no less worthy - acts such as the Lilly Brothers & Don Stover, Wade Mainer, Jim & Jesse, and the Country Gentlemen.

High Fidelity wooed fans and industry professionals alike when they took the stage at last year's International Bluegrass Music Association "World of Bluegrass" showcase in Raleigh, North Carolina. Joe Mullins, the Chairman of the Board for IBMA, concluded his appreciation of the band by saying that "I've heard history repeats itself, and these artists are resurrecting a winning formula that created classic bluegrass records years ago, and is a breath of fresh air in the 21st century - all sonically pleasing and in High Fidelity!"