Becky Buller and Dark Shadow Recording have presented us with a delightfully fresh and new all-star Christmas record.

One can hear Jake's influences, and each song on the CD introduces us to a new influence. To say that Jake is an amalgam of Elvis, Cash, Perkins, Scruggs, (Tommy) Hunter, (Faron) Young, (Buddy) Holley, and (Webb) Pierce would not yield the whole story.

These musicians are all over the CD, not all playing at once, but I can’t say I would mind it if I heard the tune with them all. They all did a fine job, but a few caught my ear.

While each individual track on Big Spring is definable, the CD is not easily done.

Even Monroe can’t perform the same two or three sets of music when he plays two sets a day for nine days to the same folks. I can remember that twenty-something Mike Compton seated right there, staring up at the master.

This three-piece band, consisting of Fred Kosak, Alissa Wolf, and Cody Tinnin, is not traditional Bluegrass but something between it and a loose, banjo-less jam band.

Carroll has been around for quite some time, working in festivals and shows in Mississippi and neighboring states.