Darrell Scott’s Electrifying Trio

For the last quarter-century, Darrell Scott has been a country music hit machine, responsible for Travis Tritt’s anthemic “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive,” Brad Paisley’s “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive,” and the Chicks’ “Long Time Gone.” As a writer, Scott combines gentleness and candor, his empathy for the straits of his subjects linked with an honesty about what it means to wake up and face the world each morning. Scott’s own dozen-plus albums carry the same sort of heart but emphasize both his literary sensibility and his sophisticated guitar playing. He was part of Steve Earle’s Bluegrass Dukes and Robert Plant’s Band of Joy, an expert instrumentalist in ace company.

He brings both skills—the writing and the playing—to bear in his rather new Electrifying Trio. Fans of bluegrass and jam bands during the last 30 years will recognize and love the rhythm section Scott has built. Drummer Jeff Sipe helped start the highly influential Aquarium Rescue Unit before joining Leftover Salmon for a spell; he combines power and finesse, able to lock into a groove and then move around it. Bassist Bryn Davies, meanwhile, is a longstanding associate of bluegrass royalty, having backed the likes of Peter Rowan, Tony Rice, and Guy Clark for many years. She has also recorded and toured with Jack White and Justin Townes Earle. The band uses Scott’s songs as a launching pad for panoramic Southern jams, Scott allowing his electric guitar to find spaces he’s rarely allowed to pursue as a songwriter for the stars.