Boone Creek (Hightone/Craft Recordings, 2026)

Out of print in North America for most of 50 years, the debut album from bluegrass band Boone Creek is reissued with bonus tracks from the original sessions.

Released on Rounder Records in 1977, "Boone Creek" was the debut project from what would become one of bluegrass music's greatest 'what if' bands. Simply put, 'what if' Boone Creek had lasted more than a couple of years?

Doing much of the lead singing, Ricky Skaggs (mandolin, fiddle, guitar) went onto great success through the '80s as a country music star who maintained traditional roots through all the amplification and lacquered hair. At the time of recording, Skaggs and Dobro master Jerry Douglas (also harmony vocals) had moved on from J. D. Crowe's landmark New South band, and were in the midst of establishing themselves as central figures in contemporary bluegrass.

Joining them were Wes Goulding (guitar, vocals), a bluegrass songwriter and bandleader and Terry Baucom, as influential banjo player as any, and who would be part of numerous bands including Quicksilver, IIIrd Tyme Out, Blue Ridge and his own Dukes of Drive.

A retrospective look at the original album — produced by soon-to-be bluegrass masters still in their early 20s — is certainly in order after these many years.

Several songs featured here, including "Dark Is the Night," "Drifting Too Far From the Shore," "Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me" and "Boone Creek" bridge foundational elements of bluegrass with a more modern (for 1977) interpretation. There is drive and wistful lyrics shrouded in the joyful bounce of bluegrass instrumentation.

In other places, Boone Creek takes things in other directions. "Sugar Daddy" has a New Orleans vibe with "Satisfy My Mind" leaning into the influence of Poco and Pure Prairie League. The instrumental "Intro"- goes places few bluegrass players would have considered. The influence of country rock on the band is apparent with these elements balanced by tight bluegrass vocal and instrumental harmony.

"Boone Creek," while incorporating standard bluegrass instruments, isn't for all as it also prominently features electric guitar, drums, piano, horns and even synthesizers. This stretching of bluegrass is most apparent on the four 'rescued' bonus tracks recorded during the original sessions, but long believed lost.

Upon presenting a finished album to Rounder, the band was advised — in not so many words — that they needed to go back and record some less commercial material. Therefore, "Hitchhiking to California" (a Golding composition) was left on the studio floor, as were the breezy "Dream Song" and "Misty Wind." The latter song wouldn't have been out of place on a Seals & Croft album; featuring Vince Gill on harmony, it is pretty far out on the limb for 'grass, even in 2026.

The most successful of the lost tracks is "Georgia Sunrise," featuring Skaggs on lead vocals. While certainly far from bluegrass, this hopeful number sounds like a Marshall Tucker band deep cut waiting to be discovered.

Fans will be pleased to have "Boone Creek" readily available for the first time in CD and digital formats as well as vinyl. Whether the four bonus tracks add to or detract from Boone Creek's legacy will be subject to personal interpretation.

What is apparent is that when the follow-up "One Way Track" appeared on Sugar Hill in 1978, the band had abandoned most country-rock flirtations for a more focused bluegrass effort. Of course, they disbanded shortly after its release.