The Infamous Stringdusters have once again recorded an album in tribute to bluegrass royalty, this time championing the output of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. The band will release A Tribute to Flatt & Scruggs on April 21, featuring the lead single, “I’d Rather Be Alone.”
The Infamous Stringdusters, who were recently nominated for Bluegrass Album Of The Year at the Grammy Awards for their 2022 album Toward The Fray, previously released a covers album honoring bluegrass legend Bill Monroe.
“The concept of paying tribute to the grandfathers or originators of bluegrass is one we bounced around for awhile and after Bill Monroe, the most logical, I think any bluegrass musician would agree, is Flatt & Scruggs,” Stringdusters bassist Travis Book stated. “They’re legendary and without Earl’s banjo, bluegrass just doesn’t exist the way we know it today.”
Consisting of six songs recorded by the pair of bluegrass icons, A Tribute To Flatt & Scruggs marks the band’s 13th full-length album. Book further detailed how the pending tribute album came together, stating:
“For the album, each of us brought a song to the table that we wanted to sing and that had meaning to us. I reached out to my friend, Jon Weisberger, and asked him if he’d suggest a song that he thought hadn’t been overdone and would suit my voice. I was thrilled when he suggested ‘I’d Rather Be Alone’ because I was familiar with it but hadn’t really played it much or learned the lyrics and it was a perfect fit … It’s a lament and it’s a sad song but it’s so beautiful. The way the melody hangs the line out there — ‘You say you’re sorry that you went awaaaaay’ — it’s just classic Flatt & Scruggs!”
Pre-order A Tribute To Flatt & Scruggs here and stream “I’d Rather Be Alone” below:
A Tribute To Flatt & Scruggs Tracklist
- I’d Rather Be Alone
- Will You Be Lonesome
- Blue Ridge Cabin Home
- Earl’s Breakdown
- Cabin on the Hill
- Down the Road
