Jessica Webb
editor@thesmokymountaintimes.com
On Saturday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m., Bryson City bluegrass sensation, Appalachian Smoke, will perform live at the Swain Arts Center on the campus of Swain County High School. This performance will also mark the local release of their new self-titled album, “Appalachian Smoke.”
This album released by Mountain Fever Records will only be available locally and will not be available worldwide until Oct. 25.
The traditional five-piece bluegrass band hails from Southern Appalachia, with two Swain County natives including Mikel Laws on vocals, banjo and guitar and BJ Taylor on vocals and mandolin. Rounding out the band is Tim Williams on upright bass and vocals, Kenneth Rymer on dobro and vocals and Jamie Mason on lead vocals, guitar and banjo.
“The reason we do what we do is we’ve been inspired by where we live. We want to play and sing the songs that the local people have inspired in us,” said BJ Taylor.
The band is excited to share their music with friends, family and local fans.
“We want to let everybody here—let the audience that’s inspired us —hear what we’ve been working on. If it hadn’t been for being raised here, we wouldn’t have nothing to write about.”
The band is enthused about the full release of the album that has had three singles that have gained ground among Bluegrass listeners.
“Three of the songs have been released on Sirius XM and made great rankings in the Bluegrass Charts. Number two is the highest spot,” said Taylor.
The singles released include “Good at Gone,” “There Goes my Heart Again” and “Growing Lonely.”
Another single, “Maggie On My Mind,” will be released Sept. 24.
"We have good expectations for that one," Taylor said.
With the exception of one Gospel song that’s in the public domain, every song on the album was written by the band members with Taylor, Laws and Williams (of Robbinsville) as the writers.
Both Taylor and Laws have been playing since their early teen years.
Songwriting serves as a foundation for Appalachian Smoke, with the band forming in 2021 as Laws and Taylor started getting together at Taylor’s house to do some home recordings.
Soon, they met Williams and his friend Rymer, who joined in, and finally Mason came along— and their unique sound started to take shape as they began making arrangements for what was to become their self-released album, "Colder Side of Love."
“We recorded ‘Colder Side of Love’ in my living room,” Taylor said. “One song made it to number two on the Cashbox charts last year, and that got the record label’s attention. We played our first showcase for IBM (International Bluegrass Music) showcase last year before we were signed; We’ll be playing in Raleigh again in a couple of weeks.”
Several other performances are in the works for the next two years.
Taylor said it’s the songwriting and collaborating that the band finds the most joy in.
“The songwriting is something we are all passionate about, especially the lyrics,” Taylor said.
They draw on local history to write many of the songs, with tunes about the North Shore communities flooded during the creation of Fontana Lake and even one about the bootlegger “Major” Lewis Redmond. Taylor said they spend a surprising amount of time at the genealogy library and Swain Heritage Museum, even having filmed their latest music video at the museum.
They are looking forward to Saturday’s concert.
“We’re excited for everybody to come out and be with us and to be playing in our same town,” said Laws.
Tickets are available online through www.swainartscenter.com or at the door. $10 for adults and $5 for students.