The Story Of A Cover Band That Cleaned Up

How can anybody remain unmoved, unconvinced, unimpressed by The Earls Of Leicester?

After they cleaned up at the IBMAs earlier this month, some indie reporter (yawn) groused that they were no more than “a Flatt and Scruggs cover band”.

If that’s true, folks, this ain’t your daddy’s Flatt and Scruggs.

Jerry Douglas brings the funk from the first note. Banjo ace, Charlie Cushman answers, carrying the whole thing back down home. Douglas roars into overdrive again and fiddler, Johnny Warren responds with lovely, sorghum-drenched country fiddling.

You think it’ll go on like that until Cushman takes his second break – a mind-bending fusion of textbook Scruggs licks, bluesy twang, and playful Americana that beats Douglas at his own game.

By the time you notice Barry Bales laying down bass lines as rock-solid as they are tasty, he’s soloing, and his break is so revelatory that the crowd bursts into applause even before he’s finished.

Recorded live at the D.C. Bluegrass Union this past February, these are The Earls Of Leicester with “Foggy Mountain Rock”.

This band. This BAND!

Between them, they’ve played just about every kind of music imaginable. Yet, they get together to dust off these moldy, old chestnuts from the Flatt and Scruggs catalog.

Why? Because they’re having fun, and their fun is infectious — from the pun in their name to Shawn Camp’s silly Lester Flatt impressions.

Did I mention that their musicianship will knock you, um, flatt?

That’s Barry Bales on bass, Charlie Cushman on banjo, Johnny Warren (son of long-time F & S fiddler, Paul Warren) on fiddle, Tim O’Brien on mandolin, Jerry Douglas on dobro, and Shawn Camp on guitar.

Distinguished guests, The Earls of Leicester with “Get In Line, Brother”.