Second Season (Pinecastle, 2009)

Though she still looks hardly more than a teenager, Kristin Scott Benson has built up a solid and lengthy resume over the past decade as one of the more talented and capable banjo players on the bluegrass circuit through her session work as well as stints with high-profile band leaders like Larry Stephenson. Though as capable of lightning-fast licks as any, she demonstrates a nice melodic touch on this 12-track solo disc - her second - with tributes to icons Earl Scruggs (Bugle Call Rag) and Bill Emerson (No Steering, No Brakes) as well as originals like Freedom Park and Far Enough Away.

Though not primarily a vocalist herself, Benson adds a harmony part on one of the four vocal tracks, No Southern Comfort (with Josh Williams and Mickey Harris), while Larry Cordle teams with Harris on the closing Something 'Bout You. Others among the sterling backup cast include Stephenson and husband Wayne Benson, mandolin standout with IIIrd Tyme Out, but it's the stellar guitar teamwork of David Grier and Cody Kilby that adds a lot of drive to the finished product.