Laura Boosinger
Down the Road
Laura’s Label

Review by Art Menius for Bluegrass Unlimited  January 1999

Back to the Old Smoky Mountains    Italy    Dixie Darling    Two Soldiers    Josie Girl    Letter From Down the Road    Tom Dula    Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss    Little Margaret    Little Moses    Consolation    Old Fashioned Locket

When I was young and starting out in this music as a career accident, I met Laura Boosinger via “Fire on the Mountain.” Laura was busy absorbing every bit of North Carolina mountain music she could from the master musicians of the area. By playing and singing with the best, she internalized regional styles. Her new CD demonstrates how much she learned back then and during the 15 years since, time she’s mostly spent on the road exposing the youth of America to the riches of Appalachian culture.

“Down The Road,” a delightful, joyous record that employs all these styles, which do not include bluegrass, tells the story of her musical education. The liner notes relate each piece to the master musicians from whom she learned. Yet there’s nothing academic about the record. It commands your attention.

Boosinger long and dedicated work at her music has come together into a captivating Appalachian sound for today. Despite the absence of bluegrass, you’ll find such familiar names as Aubrey Haynie, Blaine Sprouse, John Hartford (on “Tom Dula”), Buddy Spicer, and the late Roy Huskey, Jr. backing Boosinger, who plays banjo, guitar, and Autoharp as well as signing lead. Ballads, mountain swing, driving old time, and shape note music all achieve a consistency in both sound and quality through superior singing and playing.