Arden, North Carolina — Balsam Range returns with their second new song of the summer, “Hobo Blues.”
There is a deep tradition in Bluegrass of performing Southern blues ballads with Bluegrass instrumentation, and no one can do it better than the award-winning Balsam Range. With lead vocals from guitarist Caleb Smith, “Hobo Blues,” written by Ray LaMontagne, is a cross-picked stroll through lonesome lyrics and a sad story of a down-on-his-luck character singing through his hardships. “I don’t know whose life you’re living, but it sure ain’t mine,” he sings — a lament about a life misled.
Haunting dobro from Tim Surrett, harmonies from Buddy Melton and feathering mandolin from Darren Nicholson supply the dark mood to “Hobo Blues” that leaves you listening hard to this unexpected heartfelt Balsam Range song.
“I’ve been a Ray LaMontagne fan for a long time! His writing and delivery are real and tangible. I found ‘Hobo Blues’ around five years ago on a work tape that I acquired. It had a lot of obscure stuff on it from Ray that I had never heard before and ‘Hobo Blues’ reached out and smacked me in the face,” says Caleb Smith. “It was him and a guitar and was just raw authentic! It was awesome! His version has a very Mississippi Delta Blues feel about it, and I couldn’t help but try it. I used to play the tune occasionally during sound check and the rest of the guys really seemed to like it as well…so…we put the Balsam Range-feel on ‘Hobo Blues’ and hope you guys enjoy it as much as we do!”
Listen to “Hobo Blues” HERE.