For over 10 years, North Carolina band Town Mountain has been delighting bluegrass, country and rock and roll fans alike with their unique brand of roots music. Their new single "You Can't Win 'Em All," a slow-burning country tune that reminds us not to cry over spilled whiskey, is yet another winner — equal parts stirring honky tonk vocals, bluegrass fiddle and steel guitar.
The band, made up of Jesse Langlais (banjo/vocals), Phil Barker (mandolin/vocals), Robert Greer (guitar/vocals), Bobby Britt (fiddle) and Zach Smith (bass), teamed up with Grammy-winner Joel Savoy for the song.
Bandmember Phil Barker says he set out to write a "last-song-on-the-jukebox" tune.
"I envisioned this tune as a last-song-on-the-jukebox kind of vibe...when everything is winding down and you're left with the quiet of the evening to think back on the way life and love has gone. Not just with regret, but also with acceptance on how some things work out for the best in the long run. We tracked the beginnings of the song on a day off of tour last fall, and had been wondering how to further develop it," Barker says. "So with everybody musically quarantined for the moment, it seemed to be the perfect opportunity to do some remote collaboration to fully realize the vision of the tune. We met Joel [Savoy] years ago at a festival in Canada and became good buddies with him, and big admirers of his brand of cajun and country music. From recordings we've heard that he's played on and produced, we knew he would be the perfect person to give the song the fuller sound we wanted and we knew that the crew of musicians he works with down around Lafayette, Louisiana, are all top notch players. Seems like everyone down there plays so soulfully and is all about the classic tones. We're thrilled with what they added to the tune."
Listen to "You Can't Win 'Em All" below.
Town Mountain released their debt album Original Bluegrass and Roots Country in 2007. Since then, the band has toured with roots luminaries such as Ralph Stanley and His Clinch Mountain Boys, the Del McCoury Band, Greensky Bluegrass, and Yonder Mountain String Band.
