Earlier this month, there were perhaps hundreds of bands at World Of Bluegrass, the annual convention held by the International Bluegrass Music Association in Raleigh, NC. None was quite so off-the-beaten-track – and worthy of attention – than North Carolina bluegrass fixtures, The Williamson Brothers.

Whether it was the remarkable set that the two brothers, Tony and Gary, did with master fiddler and former Blue Grass Boy, Bobby Hicks; or the ridiculously-cool Vintage Instrument Tasting that Tony hosted, The Williamson Brothers consistently turned in rich, dynamic, compelling work. If you attended IBMA and missed any of their events, you missed some of the true highlights of the convention.

One of those was this performance by The Williamson Brothers with Bobby Hicks. Note the delicious contrast between the brothers’ spectral, 30s-style harmonizing; the crisp picking; and Bobby Hicks’s down-home licks on this haunting version of “Vision Of Mother”.