Search - Jim & Jennie & Pinetops :: One More in the Cabin

Jim Krewson and Jennie Benford hail from Philadelphia, but they sound as though they were born and raised in the heart of Appalachia. Accompanied by the Pinetops (multi-instrumentalist Bradford Huchison, fiddler Emma O'Donnell, bassist Eric Levenson, and banjoist Travis Stuart), they sing and play traditional-sounding folk and bluegrass music that calls to mind the Carter Family, the Stanley Brothers, and Hazel and Alice. They even write their own songs, which contain odd, out-of-the-past phrases like "Little girl, why do you walk alone?/ Have you not a house or home?" ("Who's Your Daddy, Little Girl?") and "Too many tears have filled my eyes/ And now my true love is bound to die" ("Driving Rain"). Krewson and Benford may not have the best voices in the world, but they harmonize with Louvin-like passion, and their musical chops (Krewson plays guitar, Benford plays mandolin) are obvious. At times, however, they try just a little too hard to sound like the hillbillies they aren't. --David Hill