steep canyon rangers arm in arm

watch Steep Canyon Rangers' "Take My Mind" video from new album 'Arm in Arm'

steep canyon rangers
photo: Shelly Swanger

North Carolina contemporary bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers released a new album today (10/16), Arm in Arm via Yep Roc. The group, known for their collaborations with comedian and banjo-lover Steve Martin, made the record with producer Brandon Bell (John Prine, Zac Brown), and it’s a concept album of sorts, where they pay homage to their earliest influences and tell stories, lyrically, that depict the America we live in today. You can listen to the whole album below.

We’ve got the premiere of the video for “Take My Mind” which features Oliver Wood of The Wood Brothers and composer and Lady Gaga collaborator Michael Bearden (with whom the band worked on “Be Still Moses,” their collaboration with Boyz II Men). Bearden had just happened to stop by the studio when they were recording the song and they asked if he wanted to play on it. “I think we captured the energy with that song,” Guggino says. “The way we felt as everyone, including Bearden, just slipped into the groove. It was magic, and it just kind of happened.” The video, shot during the studio sessions, also captures that energy. Watch it below.

steep canyon rangers arm in arm

Arm In Arm tracklist:
1.One Drop of Rain
2. Sunny Days
3. Everything You Know
4. Every River
5. Honey On My Tongue
6. In the Next Life
7. Bullet in the Fire
8. Take My Mind (feat. Oliver Wood & Michael Bearden)
9. A Body Like Yours
10. Afterglow
11. Crystal Ship