"Bluegrass Raised," by Berry and Company

This week, I am obsessed. I love bluegrass, and I LOVE songs that incorporate old folksy music. I also love the sound of this group, which is so smooth and delicious, I could vomit rainbows.

Who are the brilliant musical minds behind this track - who was responsible for what?

I  [Lacresha Berry] wrote the lyrics and came up with the idea of the song. David Cohn, my songwriting partner, arranged the music. Gianni Fontana engineered and produced the track at Explode Studios in Brooklyn.

 How did you come up with the title for this song - I know it used bits of "Old Kentucky Home," but what made you decide on "Bluegrass Raised?" 

Well, I'm a brown girl living in the bluegrass. Pretty love the idea of mixing colors and genres and ideas. Plus, it highlights the bluegrass state, where I was raised and grew up.

Was that part of your inspiration for this song as well? 

I'm from Kentucky and actually, I've been researching the past year notable African Americans from Kentucky to write my new one woman show musical called, "Brown Girl. Bluegrass." My Old Kentucky Home is the state song of Kentucky and I wanted to do a song that broke from my typical genre. I thought about people, like me, from Kentucky who weren't talked about in textbooks. So, I came up with a mash-up of my upbringing (the verses) and the state song (My Old Kentucky Home--the chorus). I also wanted to mash-up genres because growing up in Lexington, I heard country around town and soul, r and b, gospel, and hip hop in my household and neighborhoods. This is the opening song to my show, "Brown girl. Bluegrass."

That sounds AMAZING. One final question: who are your musical idols, your biggest influences on your sound and your life?

I am a huge fan of Stevie Wonder, Prince, and Erykah Badu. I'd like to mirror my songwriting closely with Stevie Wonder. His word choice and melodic patterns are interesting and classic. With this upcoming selection of songs, I listened to a lot of Valerie June. I'd love to collaborate. with her. Her work is inspiring and gives me goosebumps at the same time. She infuses blues, gospel/hymns, and folk in her work and she looks like me and grew up in Tennessee.

Those are some seriously solid influences - no wonder you sound so fantastic! Thanks so much for being a part of New Music Wednesdays! 

***You can catch up with Berry and Company on their Soundcloud - if you loved this, you should check this out on Youtube and then visit their GoFundMe!*** 

As always, if you know some notable new music, give me a shout on Twitter @AngelinaPanozzo!