Palmetto Blue – Looking Back Looking Ahead

Orange Blossom Special (Live) Two Little Boys Six White Horses Get in Line Brother Beaumont Rag Preaching Praying Singing Steel Rails Big Mon Little Girl in Tennessee Nashville Skyline Rag Old Camp Meeting Days I Will Wait Salt Creek I'll Stay Around

Album Notes

Palmetto Blue is a mostly traditional South Carolina bluegrass band, and is made up of South Carolina Folk Heritage Award Recipients Chris Boutwell and Ashley Carder, along with Shellie Davis, Steve Willis, and Ed Dalton. This album includes guests Ella Thomas, Marty Carrigg, Anna Davis, and Larry Klein. You will hear old fashioned harmonies, hard driving traditional songs, foot tapping banjo and fiddle numbers, guitar flatpicking, old time gospel numbers, and more. Palmetto Blue has been sharing bluegrass music with audiences all over South Carolina and the surrounding region for the past five years. Take a listen to their authentic brand of bluegrass music from the Palmetto State…

MEET SOUTH CAROLINA BLUEGRASS BAND PALMETTO BLUE’S BAND MEMBERS

	Chris Boutwell – Lead Vocals, Mandolin, and Guitar Chris has been singing and playing bluegrass music since the 1960s, and was a member of the band “High Country” from 1970 to 1976, when Chris earned a living as a professional bluegrass musician. High Country has been known as the premier bluegrass band on the west coast of the U.S. from the early 1970s onward. During his tenure as High Country’s lead vocalist, Chris recorded two albums with the band on Warner Brothers Records. After moving to South Carolina around 30 years ago, he has been a fixture on the bluegrass scene in the Palmetto State. Chris has played in numerous bands over the years, including High Country, Amick Junction, High Lonesome, Anna and Shellie Davis and the Unnamed Bluegrass Band, and the Claude Lucas Band. You’re sure to enjoy Chris’ smooth vocals. He is a walking encyclopedia of bluegrass knowledge, and you will be challenged to find another vocalist who knows the lyrics to as many songs as Chris does. Chris was selected as the 2014 Recipient of South Carolina’s Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award for his contributions to preserving traditional bluegrass music. Chris is a founding member of Palmetto Blue.
	Shellie Davis – Bass and Vocals Shellie Davis is no stranger to the bluegrass music scene. She has been playing the bass and singing in bluegrass bands since she was 8 years old. Shellie played in the band Anna and Shellie Davis and the Unnamed Bluegrass Band, and made her first studio recordings when she was 10 years old. Shellie keeps a rock-solid beat, and can sing sweet harmonies and has her share of songs on which she sings lead vocals. Although Shellie is rooted in the time-proven bluegrass traditions, she also keeps us on our toes by bringing current songs to the band. She also encourages us to experiment with non-traditional material such as bluegrass takes of Beatles songs or working up a Mumford and Sons song. When she’s not playing the bass and singing with Palmetto Blue, Shellie spends her time as a student at Clemson University. She excelled in high school academics and extracurricular activities, and was the Student Body President and among the top students in her class. Even though she’s a full time college student these days, she still finds plenty of time to be an integral part of our band. Shellie is a founding member of Palmetto Blue, and we are proud to have her as a member of our band!
	Steve Willis – Banjo Steve Willis has been playing banjo since the mid 1970s. At age 15 he bought a $98 banjo from K-Mart, and was and was soon hanging out with Little Roy Lewis on Tuesday night tapings of their Lewis Family show on TV station WJBF in Augusta, Georgia, learning banjo licks from Little Roy. It wasn’t long before he had saved enough to get a better banjo. He was soon playing with Ed Hurt and the Cross Country Express, which included award winning fiddler George Pritchard. During his teenage years he played banjo for radio commercials and won several first place titles in banjo contests. He got to play banjo for Mac Wiseman on a show, and was joined on stage by banjo legend Don Reno for a few numbers. In his early 20s, raising a family took priority, and Steve put his banjo down for nearly 30 years. We are glad that he has picked it back up again! His solid style is deeply rooted in the Scruggs tradition. Steve is a founding member of Palmetto Blue.
	Ashley Carder – Fiddle Ashley has been playing bluegrass and old-time music for over 35 years and has played in various SC bluegrass bands including Bill Wells and the Blue Ridge Mountain Grass, High Lonesome, Anna & Shellie Davis & the Unnamed Bluegrass Band, Old Growth String Band, and The Blue Iguanas. Ashley’s style of fiddling is rooted in the old time and early bluegrass traditions. Ashley is a 2012 recipient of South Carolina’s Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award, which was also awarded to his fiddling mentors, Homer “Pappy” Sherrill in 1988 and Vernon Riddle in 1999. Ashley is a founding member of Palmetto Blue
	Ed Dalton – Guitar and Vocals Ed Dalton has been playing the guitar since his childhood growing up in the Winston-Salem, NC area, where his dad would take him to bluegrass jam sessions. Ed grew up surrounded by bluegrass and old time music, where his dad played in bands with the likes of Joe Greene. Ed’s grandfather was also a fiddler. Ed contributes some fine flatpicking guitar and vocals to the group, and has won several guitar contests over the years. Since moving to South Carolina, he has been a fixture on the bluegrass scene and has played in several regional bands. Ed has been with us since January 2016, and we are proud to have Ed as the newest member of the Palmetto Blue family!