Blending bluegrass, blues and a healthy dose of danceable funk, Fireside Collective's "Don't Stop Lovin' Me" reveals them to be a band out to make a unique artistic statement - and by any measure, that's exactly what their second single from Mountain Home Music Company is.
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Written and sung by guitarist Joe Cicero, the new release highlights the quintet's musical dexterity, along with its commitment to original material - an outlook that places it alongside artists in the broader indie-roots music category as well as colleagues on the progressive end of the bluegrass spectrum. With its insistent pulse, snappy ensemble passages, virtuosic breakdown section and almost hypnotic refrain, "Don't Stop Lovin' Me" packs a lot into its three-plus minutes.
As Cicero explains, "I love to draw from personal experiences, and from those of people I've known, so as to highlight the human condition. I want listeners to realize that the characters have emotions, conflicts, and flaws just like everyone else, and wherever they are in their own lives will determine their personal connection to and interpretation of 'Don't Stop Lovin' Me.' That's my favorite part of sharing my songs."
With a growing list of high-profile appearances and collaborations to their credit, Fireside Collective is a band ready to break out of the crowd and take their energetic, bluegrass-and-more approach to larger arenas - and "Don't Stop Lovin' Me" is likely to serve as one good stop along the way.
A quintet who cheerfully disregard every kind of one-dimensional label that might be attached to their music, Fireside Collective has been on a roll since emerging five years ago from the fertile roots music scene of Asheville, North Carolina. In quick order, the progressive bluegrass group released its debut, won the 2016 Band Contest at MerleFest, earned an International Bluegrass Music Association Momentum Band of the Year nomination and embarked on an ambitious touring schedule that's earned an enthusiastic reception from traditional bluegrass to wide-ranging, eclectic music festival audiences alike.
Blending the characteristic interplay of bluegrass instrumentation and harmonies with strong original material and exuberant energy, Fireside Collective has drawn on folk, blues, funk and a wide variety of bluegrass sounds to create a distinctive body of work that's all their own. Each member-Joe Cicero (guitar); Alex Genova (banjo); Jesse Iaquinto (mandolin); Tommy Maher (resonator guitar) and Carson White (upright bass)-brings a strong, original voice to his instrument, and the unique contributions of different lead and harmony vocalists complement the variety in the group's many original songs.
"Depending on where you come from and your experience with folk music, you may think we're very traditional, or on the other hand, consider us a progressive act," says Iaquinto. "We appreciate both ends of the spectrum and may lie on a different end on any given night." But whether they're bringing the classic sound of bluegrass or exploring new musical territory, Fireside Collective delivers a fresh, energetic approach and a blast of enthusiastic creativity that's electrifying audiences across the country.
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