Dale Ann Bradley grew up in rural Kentucky, the backwoods. She was the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Female Vocalist of the Year for 2007, 2008 and 2009. Her recent release, ‘Somewhere South of Crazy’ showcases songs about real lives, as told by a bluegrass master. The album title has her address elsewhere but Dale Ann has found her way back home.
Dale Ann Bradley (DAB): I am living back where I grew up in Kentucky after being away for twenty-six years. I lived in Nashville, then moved to central Kentucky and now I am back in the mountains. I have been back for three years and I feel inspired now like when I was young. The culture, the scenery, is amazing.
The Alternate Root (TAR): Have you seen change?
DAB: In rural areas, the times haven’t changed much. I remember my great, great grandmother from when she was alive. My last year of high school was when we got in touch with the rest of the world. Before that, it was just up the holler. Of course, the holler is now paved. The coal trucks are still going in and out.
TAR: You grew up in a religious environment. Did you find it hard to get fulfilled with what you needed and to follow what would be your muse?
DAB: It was very strong environment. There were times when I thought I would just give in and conform. Do what everybody else did, which was cool, they were all great people. I look at where I came from, I have gotten to do so many things, been able to reach other ears. You really see how blessed you have been.
TAR; Your songs are not political though they certainly make points, showing what really matters in life.
DAB: I think that is important. I do not want to hit people over the head, I want people to draw strength from my songs. There is a saying up here that you’re gagging on a gnat and swallowing a camel. We all know, most of us, there is a God and a higher power and a better place waiting for us.
TAR: Your songs attract, more than lecture. Do you find it has been effective?
DAB: People don’t change unless their hearts change, the remembrance of childhood, good or bad, music is a gift that the creator gave us, it is just about real human emotion, that is what so special about bluegrass, I think. People are drawn to it, something about it that touches the spirit.
TAR: Bluegrass has become a very accommodating musical territory.
DAB: It is becoming more welcoming, I lived through those days five or six times in my career, that generation that weren’t gonna budge, who are afraid of losing their roots. We are not reinventing but this is the fourth generation of bluegrass, there are those precious songs that were written years ago. What came when we went through the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. There are younger people of my age group doing bluegrass and then another generation coming up that is even younger.
TAR: Any artists outside of bluegrass?
DAB: When I first saw Adele I was blown away. What a voice, and just as genuine. She has a wonderful way
of expressing her music
TR: Adele announced last week that her next album would be bluegrass.
DAB: Really? That would be great. I hope if she is thinking of getting help that she asks me. I would love to perform with her.
TAR: The stories on ‘Somewhere South of Crazy’ deal with what is really important to people, not the bigger picture, the small day to day things.
DAB: Bluegrass music talks about people in the mountains, some who ran moonshine to support their families, people that worked in the mines. The stories are not pretty but they are true.
TAR: And you have modern references, like the screensaver in the title track.
DAB: Pam Tillis and I brought that up when we were writing the song. We both agreed that it was a new reference for an old message that has been around forever, everybody has, or has seen, a beach scene screen saver.
TAR: You have some originals on the album and songs by other songwriters, some new, some old. How do you decide and make them your own?
DAB: People are kind enough to send me demos, so I have a lot of choices. Some are songs that I have heard in the past. Maybe a song that has meant so much to me over the years. Other people have done that, their own versions of songs that meant a lot to them, I so much enjoy taking songs that I have loved and put them in a different way. I am also really lucky to have these amazing musicians around me, everything is easy. Bluegrass pickers, you can put them anywhere, and they can play better than anyone. A lot of them don’t read music, they don’t have to, it is just is natural.
TAR: The Seals & Croft track, “Summer Breeze”, on this album. It has an outdoors feel in your version.
DAB: I have been thinking of that song through the years, I always thought that the lyrics could really be southern lyrics, with the references in the song. It is about a home life that is wonderful, it’s a very sweet picture and the melody is beautiful.
TAR: The bluegrass community, players and fans, seem so supportive. Has that been your experience?
DAB: I always have a prayer in my heart for bluegrass musician, and the fans. They make sure you feel welcome, make or buy you dinner, and they don’t have much money either. The bluegrass people may just have a little but they still give a lot.
TAR: True to the spirit of bluegrass.
DAB: The world is hungry for what it is, and what is real about bluegrass. That is needed in a world that is so superficial, one that keeps everybody on a high anxiety level, it is as hard as it was in the 1930’s. A lot of bluegrass goes back to Celtic roots, when those people settled, especially here in Appalachia. Hard times went on for generations and generations, things didn’t change a lot. That format of music found its way into the way blues, certainly through Bill Monroe. The blues is part of the delta and Bill Monroe merged it with the Celtic mountain music, you have to give Ralph Stanley credit. They were the music for people of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, between the two of them, and, of course, Lester and Earl, they all had a part. Bill Monroe invented a genre, he was and should be proud of it.
TAR: And another run at Female Vocalist of the Year?
DAB: I am very thankful to be in the running, very humbled, there is a lot of great talent. The year has been the busiest of my career. I love bluegrass. We are not a rich genre, but we love it and make it work,
Dale Ann Bradley has a spot to meet the musicians and pickers that join her, tour dates and more at her website.
