''Hell on Church Street'' is the sixth studio album by the American group

Punch Brothers Punch Brothers is an American band consisting of Chris Thile (mandolin), Gabe Witcher (fiddle/violin), Noam Pikelny (banjo), Chris Eldridge (guitar), and Paul Kowert (bass). Their style has been described as "bluegrass instrumentation and spontane ...

, released on January 14, 2022. The band announced the release of the album's first single "Church Street Blues" on September 28, 2021. The album was self-produced by the band and was released on the

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Non ...

label. The album is a re-imagining of

Tony Rice David Anthony Rice (June 8, 1951 – December 25, 2020), known professionally as Tony Rice, was an American guitarist and bluegrass musician. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and a ...

's 1983 album '' Church Street Blues'' and is described by the band as "its own work of art and a gift to Rice." that the Wall Street Journal describes as a "cheeky show of respect" and "nicely unpredictable." The eleven songs were recorded in Blackbird Studio in Nashville, TN in November 2020.

Production history

Prior to joining Punch Brothers, guitarist

Chris Eldridge Chris Eldridge is an American guitarist and singer. He is a member of Punch Brothers and frequently performs in a duo with fellow guitarist Julian Lage. He is also the guitarist in the house band on Live From Here. He was a founding member of the ...

studied with guitarist

Oberlin Conservatory The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory in Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in the United States. It is one of t ...

in Winter 2003 before graduating in 2004. Rice, inducted into the

International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame Induction to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, called the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor from its creation in 1991 through 2006, is managed by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and the Hall itself is mainta ...

in 2013, was a stated inspiration to

Chris Thile Christopher Scott Thile (; born February 20, 1981) is an American mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality, best known for his work in the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek and the acoustic folk and progressive blue ...

and Punch Brothers. After the release of their 2018 album ''

All Ashore ''All Ashore'' is a 1953 American comedy musical film directed by Richard Quine and starring Mickey Rooney, Dick Haymes, Peggy Ryan and Ray McDonald. In the tradition of MGM's ''Anchors Aweigh'' and '' On the Town'', the film tells the stories o ...

'' and its 2019 win for

Grammy Award for Best Folk Album The Grammy Award for Best Folk Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the folk genre. Honors in several c ...

at the 61st Grammy Awards, Punch Brothers covered the entirety of ''Church Street Blues'' at the RockyGrass Festival in Lyons, CO on July 28, 2019. After cancelling their 2020 tour due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

the band met in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

in November 2020 to record their interpretation of ''Church Street Blues'' in its entirety, at suggestion of banjoist

Noam Pikelny Noam Pikelny (born February 27, 1981, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American banjoist. He is a member of the group Punch Brothers and was previously in Leftover Salmon as well as the John Cowan Band. Pikelny is a nine-time Grammy Award nominee, win ...

. Prior to the recording the band did not listen to the original versions of the songs that Rice had played, to focus on their own version instead of trying to capture the spirit of the original. The band planned to surprise Rice with the completed album but he died before production was complete.

Track listing

Personnel

– lead vocals, mandolin *

– banjo *

– acoustic guitar *

Paul Kowert Paul Kowert (born July 18, 1986) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, and progressive bluegrass. He is a member of the progressive acoustic quintet Punch Brothers and a founding member of Hawktail, an aco ...

– bass *

Gabe Witcher Gabriel Witcher (born June 11, 1978) is a Grammy award winning American multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, and arranger, best known as a fiddle player and singer. He is a founding member of the string ensemble Punch Brothers. Witcher and ...

– fiddle

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2022 albums Nonesuch Records albums Punch Brothers albums