Steep Canyon Rangers Make Music Again with Steve Martin and Edie Brickell
It’s common for actor, funnyman and banjo player Steve Martin to take to the stage or studio with the guys of the Steep Canyon Rangers. Not-at-all unexpectedly, the newest record by this Grammy-winning roots outfit continues this longstanding collaborative tradition. The album also features contributions from singer-songwriter Edie Brickell and from Della Mae lead vocalist, Celia Woodsmith.
The 14-track release – titled Next Act – features a butterfly on its cover. According to banjo player and a primary songwriter for the group, Graham Sharp, the imagery feels about right for a record that might be seen as a type of rebirth. In this case, the rebirth is paradoxically a look back to the past; it’s a new revisiting of the more traditional bluegrass sounds of Steep Canyon Rangers.
“It’s definitely kind of a return to the roots of the band, which is in that bluegrass vein,” Sharp said. “As we were putting these songs together for the record over a couple of years, the early entries were leaning more into the bluegrass string band direction.” They decided to go with the flow and follow this organic move away from the broader Americana sounds they’d been focused on for recent records. This rebirth brought them back to tradition. Sharp called it the band’s “most bluegrass record in 10 years.”
The inspirations behind the music are found in everything, from the writing of novelist Barbara Kingsolver to memories of swimming in a flooded quarry in their Appalachian home of western North Carolina. There’s music inspired by stories from grandparents. There’s music guided by love, conjured from feelings wrought by a Valentine’s Day card. Primarily written by Sharp and guitarist and lead vocalist Aaron Burdett, the music is evocative and thematically varied. It relies upon concrete images – as does all good storytelling – but it also leaves space for the listener to interpret the story in their own way.
“I think a lot of it is trusting the listener,” Sharp explained, of his songwriting. “If they are paying attention, they can generate their own meaning…I want to leave space for the listener, but I also follow my own emotions.”
Sharp sees the guest performer contributions as vitally important to the record. He said they first began making music with Martin 17 years ago.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been that long,” he said, of this longstanding relationship. He said it is “amazing how much he is still creating,” and that “every single day he is continuing to create new stuff.” Martin – along with fellow comedian Martin Short – joined Steep Canyon Rangers on some dates of the spring tour in support of Next Act.
Brickell – who first gained the limelight in the late 1980s with her band, Edie Brickell and New Bohemians – has been recording and touring with Martin for over a decade. She has also been a big part of the story of the Steep Canyon Rangers.
“She is such a true artist, and such a sweet person,” Sharp said. “She sees people with empathy, and that really comes through in her writing.”
It seems the contributor Sharp is actually most excited about – based on his tone of voice, at least – is Woodsmith. She is featured on “Hard Times,” a duet with Burdett.
“We’ve been friends and fans of Della Mae for a long time,” Sharp explained. “It felt like Celia’s voice was really well-suited to Aaron’s voice…she sings with a lot of roots soul.”
Overall, it’s this collective effort – these forays into different ways of being creative, and different configurations of performers – that makes this record fun for Sharp after all these years.
“I really like the fact that we have different people playing lots of different instruments…different people playing guitars, banjos, dobros.”
He said it “makes things really dynamic” and “lets everybody have some real ownership and a voice in it.”
“We have so much talent among the different members,” he added.
Sharp was asked about the future: Are there any “bucket list” goals still left undone? Any more goals outstanding, for a group that has truly done it all at this point? He sounded quite content and grateful for what Steep Canyon Rangers has given him. If there were one wish, he said, it would be a hope to give the newer bandmates the chance to experience all those milestones as well.
“I love where we are right now, and I feel so fortunate to get to do it,” he said. The band has got Grammy cred, but a few of the new “Rangers” joined up after that big accolade happened back in 2013. Sharp hopes they might be able to do it again. “Maybe we’ll also get them a Grammy as well one of these days,” he laughed.
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