Rising Appalachia - Texas Hold 'Em (Beyoncé Cover) [Official Audio]

Well, what can we say? This one was the most obvious inroad into the wild and prolific work of Queen B; Beyonce herself. We were beyond ourselves with excitement when Beyonce brought clawhammer banjo into the first single of her recent country album, Cowboy Carter, showcasing the incredibly rich history of the black banjo, and its roots in Africa and the African American south. She speaks about her music as being a collection of country, zydeco, neo soul and blues , and these crossroads of Southern music have always been a wellspring for us . The song Texas Hold ‘Em includes a banjo riff by longtime friend and collaborator Rhiannon Giddens (who we met in our early days playing tunes at the West Virginia String Band festival and have shared shows together with her earlier band the Carolina Chocolate Drops). Her music and cultural education around the Black banjo renaissance continues to inspire us tremendously. For our version of Texas Hold ‘Em we decided to lean into a very simple sister rendition, just 2 voices and a banjo, giving it that real old-time feel.
Folk & Anchor is a collection of covers. All arrangements by Rising Appalachia
Produced by Leah Song & Chloe Smith
Recorded and mixed Julian Dreyer, Echo Mountain
Mastered by Jason Richmond, Independent Mastering
Photography and videography Earthbased Media www.earthbased...
Album design by Leah Song, Chloe Smith
Vocals: Leah Song, Chloe Smith
Banjo: Leah Song
Acoustic Guitar: David Brown
Bass: David Brown
Fiddle: Duncan Wickel, Chloe Smith
Cello Duncan Wickel
Percussion: Biko Casini
Trumpet: Branden J Lewis
Bodhran: Leah Song
Harmony vocals: Duncan Wickel, David Brown