Run Boy Run’s Hip Shakin’ Sophomore Album

Arizona isn’t known to be a hotbed for bluegrass acts, but I’ve been watching Tucson’s Run Boy Run since they won a spot on the 2012 Telluride bill. In September, the band released Something to Someone (Amazon Music & Spotify), their sophomore full-length album comprising of a mix of traditional and original tunes. The vocal harmonies of Grace Rolland, Bekah Sandoval Rolland and Jen Sandoval that have helped the band stand out are featured heavily on this record that’s also carried by strong fiddler Matt Rolland and bassist Jesse Allen.

Those hyper-clean feminine voices even (pretty hilariously) sing dark things like “Well I grabbed my revolver from my side and I destroyed that poor boy’s soul” on the band’s rendition of “Wild Bill Jones.” While this is not an album for those who crave mind-bending solos, these are talented instrumentalists and it’s hip swingin’ fiddle tunes like the opening original track, “Under the Boughs,” as well as the “WBJ” cover, that that really won me over. (Suggestion: Watch this or this when listening.)