Alive At Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary

Release Date:10/14/2016;Notes:Vinyl LP pressing. Until it closed in 2009, Tennessee's Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary was one of the most notorious penal institutions in America. Located in mountainous Petros, it was a forbidding rockpile hewn out of the rough countryside by it's own inmates in 1896. On Oct. 17, 2001, Mark Collie came to Brushy Mountain with a sheaf of newly written songs about crime and punishment and an all-star band for a pair of performances that were recorded for a live album release. Mostly, though, Collie showed up at Brushy Mountain with a mission. A top-flight crew of musicians was assembled, including guitarist Dave Grissom (John Mellencamp, Joe Ely), keyboardist Mike Utley (Jimmy Buffett, the Dixie Flyers), guitarist-mandolinist Tommy Burroughs (Memphis Riverbluff Clan), Collie's longtime accordionist Hassel Tekkle, bassist Willie Weeks (the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, B.B. King), drummer Chad Cromwell (Neil Young, Mark Knopfler), and guitarist-fiddler-vocalist and solo star Shawn Camp. Austin-based critics darling Kelly Willis, who takes lead vocals on two tracks, also supplied backup vocals on several numbers the late Texas blues giant Clarence Gatemouth Brown is the album's other special guest. Alive at Brushy Mountain embraces a breadth of American styles - country, blues, gospel, bluegrass, and rock n roll. It largely comprises striking original material, which contemplates the convict's lot with compassion, keen detail, and sometimes boisterous humor.