Arden, North Carolina (February 12, 2020) — Western North Carolina native Carley Arrowood has been playing fiddle and singing on bluegrass stages for more than a decade. In the last five years, Arrowood has played with Darin & Brooke Aldridge, traveling overseas, performing with John Cowan and Jimmy Fortuneand taking the stage at the Grand Ole Opry. Her playing has earned her several accolades at fiddlers conventions and an IBMA Momentum Award for Instrumentalist of the Year in 2017.
Using classical techniques she learned as a child, Arrowood has built on her style of playing with Aubrey Haynie, Alison Krauss, and Jim VanCleve as influences. Rich vibrato and long, smooth bowing are some things that can be recognized in her playing.
Now, Arrowood, who continues to perform with the Aldridges, has signed with Mountain Home Music Company to release solo music, showcasing her own voice and songwriting.
“I’m really excited to be with Mountain Home! I’ve known most of the crew for a while now and they’re all just a joy to be around,” says Arrowood. “To be on a label with so many of my heroes, mentors and friends is amazing, and I know that this whole experience so far has been nothing but my God orchestrating events and opening doors. He is so good and so faithful, and I can’t wait to see what He does next. Thank You Lord!”
Mountain Home’s Jon Weisberger adds, “Carley’s one of the brightest lights in a new generation of bluegrass-leaning musicians — an accomplished player, a compelling singer and a refreshingly original songwriter. Her music is rooted both in the rich fiddle traditions of North Carolina and in contemporary bluegrass, country and gospel sounds. We’re excited to help her translate her talent and vision into her own recordings as a member of the Mountain Home family.”
Mountain Home will begin releasing music from Arrowood over the coming months.
About Carley Arrowood
Though she’s young, Carley Arrowood is already something of a musical veteran. Singing since she was old enough to talk, she’s been playing fiddle for over thirteen years, and has spent the past five years as a featured bandmember with the award-winning duo of Darin & Brooke Aldridge.
Carley began playing in a classical vein, but soon gravitated toward the bluegrass music and fiddle tunes of her western North Carolina home. With her sister, Autumn, she formed a band called Carolina Jasmine, which became the first all-female group to win the Junior Band Championship at the famed Fiddlers Grove convention. Her career progress flourished through high school, as she began to work at Dollywood, competed in — and took home trophies from — an impressive list of fiddle contests, and became one of the featured musicians in the International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) annual Kids on Bluegrass program.
A developing songwriter — her “Jesus Drive The Train,” a co-write with the award-winning Becky Buller, earned her a showcase appearance at the IBMA’s World of Bluegrass in 2015 — Carley’s been recognized for her fiddle playing as well, receiving an IBMA Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year trophy in 2017. And in 2014, just a day after graduation, Carley began filling in with Darin and Brooke, joining them full-time that fall after turning 18. Since then, she’s performed with the duo at the Grand Ole Opry, on television shows like “Larry’s Country Diner,” on European tours and at bluegrass festivals and concerts around the country.