In July, banjo player and singer Nora Brown and old-time fiddle player Stephanie Coleman released their EP Lady of the Lake on Jalopy Records. In his album review here, Dave McNally noted how there was a shrewd exuberance in the way Nora and Stephanie played together, taking turns to lead and leaving plenty of space for each other to shine. He wasn’t kidding when he said it leaves you wanting more. Well, in their performance below, they do perform the title track of their new EP and “Copper Kettle” but treat us to a track that isn’t on their EP: “Across the Rocky Mountain”/”The Old Blue Bonnet”.
NPR’s Bob Boilen recently invited them in for a Tiny Desk Concert. They note: There’s a sweet moment between songs when Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman reminisce about their love for traditional banjo and fiddle tunes. Speaking about ‘Across the Rocky Mountain,” banjo picker Nora Brown says she first heard the song when she was about 10 or 11. That puts a grin on fiddler Stephanie Coleman’s face as she chimes in to say, “I had the same experience; we both were middle schoolers who were obsessed with old banjo players.” It’s this passion that these two have for traditional tunes that sparks me as a listener and the audiences that come to see them. It’s a body of work that’s been handed down from player to player for centuries.
Lady of the Lake is available on Bandcamp: https://norabrownandstephaniecoleman.bandcamp.com/album/lady-of-the-lake