Cheatin’, Longing and Family Legacy: The 78 Project spends a week in Nashville

We hit Nasvhille in the afternoon on Tuesday, and went straight over to record with Dylan LeBlanc in Franklin, TN.  While he was warming up, we discovered he is a part of a family legacy of beautiful whistling, and he genially agreed to do some whistling on the song.  Dylan told us stories both sad and triumphant, and performed a haunting version of “Where Did You Sleep Last Night.”

Our dear friend Willie of The Breedings put us up for the week in his East Nasvhille home, and we got to check out some local eats and color, including getting to meet Miss Katy K in her Ranch Dressing store!

 

Chelsea Crowell invited us over to the gorgeous pre-Civil War era house where she lives, and let us take over the living room with its beautiful afternoon light.  She performed “Are You From Dixie?” like it had never been played before, with genuine longing and mesmerizing gentleness and subtlety.

 

Thursday bright and early we joined Ella Mae Bowen in another beautiful old Nashville house.  Ella Mae had written songs for her album there, finding so much inspiration in it that she knew it was the place she should make her 78.  We set up in the foyer, where the light from the upstairs window cast a glow around Ella Mae as she sang “The Love of God” with so much love in her powerful voice that we were swept away.

Holly Williams and Chris Coleman and their two happy dogs generously invited us over for our last recording afternoon in Nashville.  Holly and Chris sang a stirring version of “I Saw The Light,” a song by Holly’s grandfather Hank Williams, with pure and energetic harmonies.  The Presto got to star in a photo shoot of its own as it sat in their screened back porch, Chris pulled out his big guns camera for the occasion.

The long weekend started, and we dug in to backup our footage, enjoy the last moments of our time in Nashville, and get ready to hit the road once again.  Memphis, we can’t wait to see you!