Speed of the Plow
Matt Brown & Greg Reish
“It’s refreshing to hear these tunes delivered by true craftsmen playing with a conviction that allows the melodies to really shine. Way to go Matt and Greg!” Bryan Sutton
Matt Brown (fiddle) & Greg Reish (guitar) join forces to perform a variety of oldtime instrumentals from rural America. From the opening title track, a crosstuned hoedown from eastern Kentucky fiddler John Salyer, “Speed of the Plow” winds its way through square dance tunes, rags, blues, and haunting melodies reinterpreted from the solo fiddle repertory. Sources and inspirations include Virginia fiddler Emmett Lundy, Oklahoma’s Uncle Dick Hutchison, West Virginiaborn Ed Haley (whom John Hartford championed), North Carolina’s Benton Flippen, and many more. Coproduced and engineered by Dave Sinko (Punch Brothers, Béla Fleck, Hot Rize), “Speed of the Plow” showcases Matt & Greg’s versatility as they pay homage to the rich tradition of oldtime duets. Liz Carroll calls it “utterly joyful music!”
Matt Brown has toured as a soloist, performed with the percussive dance ensembles Rhythm in Shoes and Footworks, and has made guest appearances with Tim O'Brien, The John Hartford Stringband, Uncle Earl, Dirk Powell & Riley Baugus, Della Mae, and with Mike Snider on the Grand Ole Opry. Thanks to his banjoplaying father, Brown grew up with the oldtime music of the Appalachian South. He learned oldtime music from tradition bearers Brad Leftwich, Bruce Molsky, Rafe Stefanini, Paul Brown, Dirk Powell, Ginny Hawker, and Tracy Schwarz. He teaches fiddle, banjo, guitar, and oldtime singing to students of all ages at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago.
Greg Reish is a musician, storyteller, and musicologist specializing in the stringband music of the American South. He has performed across much of the United States and in 2007 made a sixcity solo tour of Japan. Reish serves as director of the Center for Popular Music at Middle Tennessee State University, one of the nation’s most important research centers for American vernacular music, and is a recognized authority on oldtime and bluegrass guitar styles. He combines instrumental prowess with extensive knowledge of traditional instrumental styles and folksong histories, digging deep into the twisted roots of Southern music.
