Once considered one of America’s great bluegrass bands, Stoney Lonesome push the boundaries of the genre by combining pure tradition with emotional honesty and lyrical innovation. Kate MacKenzie’s vocals soar like a bluegrass Bonnie Raitt, graceful and bluesy. Kevin Barnes lends his uncanny talents on banjo, vocals and dobro. Lead guitarist/mandolinist Chris Kaiser, fiddler Brian Wicklund add solid blending vocals of their own and with bassist Patty Shove, provide unusually creative rhythmic force and a melodic ingenuity creating one of the quintessential bluegrass albums of the ’90s.
Stoney Lonesome achieved great recognition a rabid fanbase over years of touring the United States and Japan as well as through regular performances on A Prairie Home Companion. They released two superb on Red House, Lonesome Tonight (1991) and Blue Heartache (1992). Both albums generated unprecedented excitement and were considered some of the best bluegrass albums in the country.