The September Cover Story: Bronwyn’s New Album Will Rattle Your Bones
A good song often ties back to a real-life experience, and that’s the case with “Sticks and Stones,” the first track on Bronwyn’s new album, Rattlin’ Bones. The album was released on August 14, and with this album, Bronwyn explores a new-to-her musical possibility: songwriting. “I wrote that song when I was touring with Golden Highway,” recalls Bronwyn. “I was trying to sleep on the bus, and I was on a bottom bunk where I felt the bus rattle with each bump. That line kept running through my head.”
Many of the songs on the new album began with a thought scribbled on a piece of paper. “I’d often hear a phrase or something and write it down. When I got serious about songwriting, I pulled out all my little papers.”
With her lived experiences and piles of idea-starters, Bronwyn says she got busy writing. “I started with a lot of ideas. I wasn’t sure if I could do it, but I set a goal for myself. I’ve always worked best when I have a deadline, so I wrote the songs specifically for the album.”
She was intentional about her writing, scheduling songwriting sessions, and stepping out of her comfort zone. She drew on her experience and influences to uncover and embrace her unique talent.
That tracks for Bronwyn, whose first album, Fidder’s Pastime, showcased her virtuosic fiddle playing. Her second album, nominated for a GRAMMY, was I Built a World, which introduced her vocal talents. Now Rattlin’ Bones has pulled all her talents together, from writing the album’s songs to singing and playing on them.
This album also introduces her as “Bronwyn,” instead of her full name, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes. “I have an unusual first name, and my last name was hyphenated, which is sometimes difficult for people.” She also married fellow fiddler Jason Carter last year, so there was a question on whether or not to change her last name. “I thought using just Bronwyn would be easier for folks.” It worked for Cher and Madonna, so why not Bronwyn?
Co-produced by Bronwyn and Brent Truitt (The SteelDrivers) at Truitt’s Nashville studio and at the Tractor Shed in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, Rattlin’ Bones features some of Music City’s finest: dobroist Jerry Douglas, guitarists Bryan Sutton and Frank Rische, mandolinist Harry Clark, bassists Dennis Crouch and Jeff Picker, banjoist Wes Corbett, drummer Miles Miller, and Bronwyn’s former Golden Highway bandmate, Dominick Leslie. She was also joined by her touring band: mandolinist Tristan Scroggins, banjoist Frank Evans, and bassist Larry Cook.
One of the songs on the album, “Gallatin Road,” features a duet with Nashville’s underground country music hero, Timbo, and harmonies by songwriting great Darrell Scott, among others.
When asked about the theme of the album, Bronwyn responded that “wanderlust” sums it up. “Most of the songs come from events in my life, my experiences on tour.” Although she has never taken songwriting classes (she attended the Berklee American Roots Music Program), she did take a fiddle-tune-writing class from Mark Simos, who has written songs for many artists, including Alison Krauss and Molly Tuttle.
“When writing songs for the album, I started by breaking down songs I liked and analyzing what I liked about them,” says Bronwyn. “My intention was to create a collection of songs that I would want to play live every night with my band. And I wanted to make a record that you’d want to turn up so loud, it would rattle your bones. In other words, a good road trip album.”
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