Underhill Rose – new album

Underhill Rose
Photograph by Sandlin Gaither

Harmonies. Soul-touching lyrics. Underhill Rose has put its talents to work to become synonymous with fresh, beautiful Americana music.

With Eleanor playing her distinctive claw-hammer style on a Deering banjo along with harmonica, Molly Rose on guitar, and Salley plucking the upright bass, the trio has carved out a place in the Americana scene with songs that run the gamut from heart wrenching to sassy and playful to thought-provoking. Eleanor’s salty blues-inspired voice and Molly’s soaring range lead the group in tandem with Salley’s country twang to create three-part harmony music that is real and inspired, and rooted in everything life has thrown at Asheville, North Carolina’s pre-eminent female trinity.

Molly Rose and Eleanor Underhill’s musical partnership is the result of a chance meeting at a makeshift performance of ‘Angel from Montgomery’ between classes at Warren Wilson College. Molly Rose’s beautiful voice resonated with Eleanor, and the two eventually started performing live together. Their affinity for the music they make has kept them together for more than 12 years. Underhill Rose formed in 2009, and the addition of Salley Williamson two years later created the foundation for an internationally-recognized female trio known for blending aspects of Americana, rhythm and blues, country and bluegrass into an authentic sound that is all their own – “Heartfelt Country Soul.”

The successful completion of a crowd-funding campaign kick-started 2013 and the band’s sophomore album, Something Real, debuted in May 2013, quickly climbing the Americana Music Association Airplay Chart. The release would spend 10 weeks in the Top 40 and an additional 12 in the Top 100. By the end of the year, the album was named an AMA Top 100 album of the year. The group’s record also appeared in the Top 25 on the Euro Americana, Freeform Americana Radio (FAR) and The Alternate Root “Roots 66” charts. The band has earned critical-acclaim from No Depression, Music News Nashville, Common Folk Music, The Alternate Root, The Roots Music Report, and numerous other publications throughout the United States and Europe.

After a year of extensive touring, Underhill Rose had plenty of fodder for a third original album. They launched a second successful fan-funding campaign in 2014 that brought in over $25,000 from fans and followed it with a five-week national tour and an appearance on the PBS-syndicated show, The Woodwright’s Shop, with Roy Underhill. Finally, the group settled into the recording studio to create The Great Tomorrow, their most cohesive work to date, with the help of producer Cruz Contreras of the Black Lillies and mixer Danny Kadar (who’s worked with such notable artists as My Morning Jacket and Band of Horses). Released in the US last summer, the album reached the Top 30 of the AMA Charts once again, and remained at #1 on the Roots Music Report’s Progressive Bluegrass Album Chart for over 9 weeks.

Underhill Rose makes music from the heart, drawing inspiration from life-long listening to folk, old country, and rhythm and blues. Armed with a fresh sound and an extraordinary ability to blend a multitude of musical genres, Underhill Rose is an acoustic trio that will touch your soul.

With The Great Tomorrow now out in the UK & Ireland, just ahead of their first dates here, and a return visit already planned for the autumn, Underhill Rose are poised and ready for yet another groundbreaking year in their musical journey.

Artists’ website: www.underhillrose.com

‘Montana’ – live acoustic: