As children growing up in remote, rural Canada, the brothers of High Valley (Brad and Curtis Rempel) had three records in their collection: Buck Owens, the Everly Brothers and Ricky Skaggs. As rising country stars in Music City, they can now claim the latter as executive producer on the brand new bluegrass version of their song “Single Man” (listen HERE).
The duo, whose country blend has consistently nodded to their bluegrass roots, pulled together some of the format’s most prominent musicians on the new release. Their band on the track includes Blake Shelton’s fiddle player Jenee Fleenor, who is currently being honored as first-ever female CMA Awards Musician of the Year nominee. Watch the premiere of their in-studio video on The Bluegrass Situation HERE.
“We grew up surrounded by bluegrass music,” Brad told The Bluegrass Situation. “Ricky Skaggs was our hero thanks to a few records our parents introduced to us. When our town finally got a radio station, I spent a few years as a DJ hosting a bluegrass hour. Recently, Curtis and I called up a few of our friends and some of Nashville’s finest bluegrass pickers to turn them loose and let them show off! Recording this bluegrass version of ‘Single Man’ was easily the most natural moment we’ve ever had in the studio. When it came time to work on the mix and make sure everything was produced properly, it was so great to have Ricky Skaggs offer his help as the executive producer on this track. Talk about a full circle moment!”
Added Skaggs: “My friends High Valley have just had a big country hit on the song ‘Single Man,’ but just to show you how versatile these guys are, they have just released a Bluegrass version. It’s amazing, [and] I think they’ll have a huge hit in the Bluegrass charts too!”
High Valley will continue to tour through the end of the year as they work on new music.
