Echo In The Valley

Echo in the Valley has 11 songs, the majority are original tunes and there are a few wildly re-imagined traditional ones. In the way that Abigail and Béla both have used the banjo as a bridge between cultures, this record bridges traditional Appalachian tunes with original songs that address relevant topics in today's world. Traditional tunes that are re-imagined on the record include an especially soulful and bluesy rendition of "Blue Ridge Mountains" and one of the most indelible songs on the record, "Come All You Coal Miners," connects past with present when passing along the point of view of coal-miner advocate Sarah Ogan Gunning whose passages remain poignant and powerful today. "This song came from a very emotional, mother-driven, daughter-driven, wife-driven place, and there are not many songs throughout history from that perspective, so I am incredibly moved by her," Washburn explains.