The Po' Ramblin' Boys Wanderers Like Me (CD)

(Smithsonian Folkways Recordings) 10 tracks, digisleeve

GRAMMY-nominated bluegrass band The Po' Ramblin Boys from East Tennessee present their new album “Wanderers Like Me” on Smithsonian Folkways. The album is a retrospective of the last ten years, since the band formed in Tennessee and has since experienced numerous triumphs and difficulties. It is the first album they have recorded with an outside producer, Woody Platt, and contains more original compositions than any of their previous albums. During their rise, the band has received recognition from the International Bluegrass Music Association (“New Artist of the Year,” 2018) to the Recording Academy, which nominated them for “Best Bluegrass Album” in 2019. But through it all, they have remained a true “working band,” always looking for the next gig, the next big break, and the next story to capture in a song - “Wanderers Like Me” shows what it's like to go through the ups and downs of life when home is the road. With a mix of bluegrass, honky-tonk, rebellion and traditional styles, the group's second album for Smithsonian Folkways is their most polished and mature to date. It is a testament to unwavering dedication and deep friendships.

The Po' Ramblin' Boys were formed ten years ago as the house band of the Ole Smoky Distillery in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Founder and mandolinist C.J. Lewandowski invited his friends and colleagues Josh Rinkel (guitar) and Jereme Brown (banjo) and soon Jasper Lorentzen (bass) to join the band. Within no time, the band was touring extensively, garnering national recognition, awards, and performances at mainstream festivals such as Maryland's DelFest, where Rolling Stone was impressed by the band: “This quartet isn't playing ‘bluegrass house.’ It's the real deal, and it's damn good - the kind of bluegrass that throws a little rocket fuel onto the next generation of this fiery mountain music.” Despite their countless successes and long career, the band members still have side jobs to maintain their passion for music and supplement their income when they are not on tour – from making fur hats to driving dump trucks, mowing lawns and clearing snow in winter. Songs like “Trying To Live The Dream” and “It's Not A Perfect World” tell of the obstacles the band had to contend with when they chose this lifestyle. “Sometimes it hurts to do what we do for a living,” says guitarist and main songwriter Josh Rinkel. “There's a lot of sacrifices, but satisfaction comes all the same.”

True to the title, the album is about what it's like to be dependent on each other as “wanderers,” facing loss and the great unknown, but also about the forces of nature and music. While writing their album, the band had to mourn the loss of several close friends and struggle with their own personal problems. In 2022, Josh was confronted with a life-changing illness that provided a reality check for him and the rest of the band. In 2023, a close friend of the band, Bobby Osborne (of the Osborne Brothers), passed away – his song “The Condition Of Samuel Wilder's Will”, which is about the grief of losing a friend, can be heard on the album. The band realized that what they did was only so great because they did it together. The songwriting on “Wanderers Like Me” reflects the band's change of perspective and shows what they have always longed for: musical harmony with the people they love.

The band wanted to make not only an album that reflected their personal and collective growth over the last ten years, but also their musical achievements and evolution. In an effort to take their music to the next level, “Wanderers Like Me” was recorded at Van Atkins' Shop Studio in Candler, NC, with producer Woody Platt, after the band had produced all of their previous releases themselves. “It was one of the best decisions we ever made,“ the band recalls. ‘Our main goal with this album was to make something that was more ’us' than ever before, and we couldn't have done it without his insight.” “We're not a traditional bluegrass band. We're not a progressive bluegrass band. We're just us,” continues C.J. Lewandowski. “We love something so much that it involves a lot of sacrifice, but we chose to make music because it's in our blood.”