July 19, 2024 — After a moody original instrumental, “Donner Pass,” Mountain Home Music Company’s husband-wife duo of Benson are back with a reminder that nothing makes a better bluegrass song than a country song — in this case, an entry from Dwight Yoakam’s Kentucky-by-way-of-Bakersfield classic 1987 album, Hillbilly Deluxe. With its dark lyric and up-tempo bluegrass beat, “This Drinkin’ Will Kill Me” is a quintessential translation that sounds as if the song were made for the genre — as, indeed, it may have originally been.
“Even subconsciously, I think musicians are always thinking about material when listening to any kind of music,” confesses Kristin Scott Benson, the award-winning, banjo-playing member of the team. “Sometimes you have to hear through the current version to know if it will work, but this song was not like that. Dwight Yoakam’s cut was an obvious fit because they basically recorded it with a bluegrass feel already.”
Sure enough, Benson’s approach to the song recreates a state-of-the-art bluegrass sound from that late 80 and early 90s, enlisting bassist Kevin McKinnon of the era’s trailblazing Lonesome River Band to round out the rhythm section of long-time friend and colleague Cody Kilby (guitar) and master session drummer Tony Creasman. And doubling down on the musical allusion, “This Drinkin’ Will Kill Me” tips its hat to mandolinist Wayne Benson’s long tenure with the equally influentialIIIrd Tyme Out by bringing in former bandmate Dustin Pyrtle to handle the vocals.
Says Wayne, “I immediately thought of Dustin Pyrtle when I heard this song. It just seemed perfect for his voice and vocal style. I love what he did with it!”
“This Drinkin’ Will Kill Me” is streaming in Dolby Atmos spatial audio on Apple Music, Amazon Music and TIDAL. Listen to it HERE.
About Benson
Benson is a collaborative effort between two of bluegrass music’s most treasured instrumentalists: Wayne and Kristin Scott Benson. With decades of experience in top-tier bands, both have established themselves as stalwarts in the community. After years of paving separate musical paths, the two finally decided it was time to integrate their identities and create something new together. Benson is their first combined effort, despite having been married for over 20 years.
Wayne Benson is a 25-year veteran of the seven-time IBMA Vocal Group of the Year, Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out. He is on the short list of mandolin players who have signature models with Gibson Musical Instruments.
Kristin Scott Benson is a six-time IBMA Banjo Player of the Year and recipient of the Steve Martin Award for Excellence in Bluegrass and Banjo. She has been a member of the GRAMMY-nominated Grascals since 2008.