History
The Lonesome River Band (LRB) was formed in mid-1983 by guitarist and vocalist Tim Austin, bassist and vocalist Jerry McMillan, mandolin and fiddler player Steve Thomas, and banjo player Rick Williams. [1] Thomas and Williams left early on, replaced by Jeff Midkiff and Mike Jones, respectively. [2] Allen Watkins replaced Jones for "most of 1984", before Billy Wheeler took his place in time for the recording of the band's debut album I Guess Heartaches Are in Style This Year. [1] Just before recording began for a self-titled second album in March 1986, Rick Allred replaced Wheeler, although after just "a few weeks" he was replaced by Randy Driskill. [2] The new lineup released The Lonesome River Band later in the year, before Midkiff left in June 1987 — he was replaced briefly by Ray Legere, followed by Adam Steffey; shortly after the latter's arrival in September, Driskill also departed, with Brian Fesler taking over in November. [1] Fiddle on 1988's Saturday Night, Sunday Morning was performed by Steve Thomas. [2]
During the summer of 1988, the LRB lost both Steffey and Fesler, with Dan Tyminski taking over initially on banjo before switching to mandolin. [3] Tyminski also took over most of Austin's lead vocal duties, while Dale Perry replaced Fesler on banjo — both members debuted on 1989's Looking for Yourself. [2] By September 1990, founding member Jerry McMillan had been replaced by Ronnie Bowman, while Perry had also made way for Sammy Shelor. [3] The lineup of Austin, Tyminski, Bowman and Shelor was the band's first to release two albums without changing personnel — Carrying the Tradition in 1991 and Old Country Town in 1994 — although both Tyminski and Shelor spent a few months away from the band during 1992, before ultimately returning. [3] In 1995, Austin became the last original member of LRB to leave the group, as he chose to "devote more time to working in his home recording studio, Doobie Shea". [4] Following Austin's departure, Shelor and Bowman subsequently took over as bandleaders. [5]
Tyminski left at the same time as Austin, with the pair replaced by guitarist Kenny Smith and mandolin player Don Rigsby for the recording of 1996's One Step Forward (Rigsby joined Bowman on lead vocals). [6] Finding the Way and Talkin' to Myself followed in 1998 and 2000, respectively, the latter of which saw the introduction of the band's first full-time fiddle player, Rickie Simpkins. [7] Talkin' to Myself was also the last LRB album to feature Bowman, Rigsby and Smith, all of whom left (alongside Simpkins) towards the end of 2001. [8] The next year's Window of Time introduced new members Brandon Rickman on guitar and vocals, Jeff Parker on mandolin and vocals, Mike Hartgrove on fiddle, and Irl Hees on bass. [8] Hees was replaced by John Wade and the band released Head On Into Heartache in 2005. [8]
The LRB went through numerous lineup changes during late 2005. In August, Hartgrove left to rejoin Doyle Lawson's group Quicksilver; [9] in September, Wade was replaced by Barry Berrier; [10] and in October, Rickman left to focus on his work as a songwriter — replaced by Shannon Slaughter in January. [10] The new lineup recorded The Road with No End that year, which also introduced Matt Leadbetter as the group's first official dobro player. [11] LRB's lineup changed almost entirely again during 2007. In January, Parker was replaced by Andy Ball; [12] in February, Berrier and Slaughter were replaced by Mike Anglin and a returning Brandon Rickman, respectively; [13] and in December, the band announced the departure of Leadbetter and the return of Mike Hartgrove on fiddle. [14] This lineup remained stable for two years, releasing No Turning Back in 2008 and Still Learning in 2010. [15] [16] Anglin was replaced by Barry Reed in September 2010. [17] Ball also left in January 2011, [18] with Randy Jones taking his place in March. [19]
In 2012, the lineup of Rickman, Jones, Hartgrove, Shelor and Reed released a series of three extended plays titled Chronology, featuring re-recorded versions of songs from previous releases. [20] This was followed by a new studio album, Turn on a Dime, in 2014. [21] This was the last LRB release to feature Jones, who was replaced in June 2015 by Jesse Smathers. [22] The new incarnation persisted for the next six years, releasing Bridging the Tradition in 2016, [23] Mayhayley's House in 2017, [24] Outside Looking In in 2019, [25] and the tribute album Singing Up There: A Tribute to the Easter Brothers in 2021. [26] In June 2021, long-time guitarist and vocalist Brandon Rickman left LRB, with Smathers taking his place on mandolin and Adam Miller joining as the band's new guitarist. [27] The following month, Barry Reed also left the group, to be replaced by new bassist Kameron Keller. [28] With new members Miller and Keller, the LRB released Heyday in 2022 and The Winning Hand in 2024. [29] [30]
