Mission Blue: Live at the Back Room
Song List: Brown Eyed Darlin’, Southern Moon, Big Sandy River, Mississippi River Raft, Ramblin’ Boy, Peggy-O, Oh Susanna, Denver Belle, This Weary Heart You Stole Away, You Go To Your Church, East Virginia Blues.
Mission Blue started in 2018 with father and daughter Avram and Dana Frankel, and their strong family harmony singing made forming a band a foregone conclusion. Dana plays fiddle, Avram guitar, and their band on this album includes David Thiessen on mandolin, Jesse Personeni on banjo and Tom Sours on bass.
This recording was produced in 2019, and we all know what happened the following two years. A recent performance at the Good Old Fashioned Festival in August displayed the band’s great balance of instrumentation and strong vocals that this recording documents. Avram and Dana displayed some fine harmonies, but the other members of the band contribute to a trio vocal sound as well. Dana’s fiddle has the right amount of persuasive power that lets her lead “Big Sandy River” and “Denver Belle.” Her fiddle also leads the introduction to “Peggy O” and the harmonies in the band vocals are impressive. The other “Americana” classic, “East Virginia Blues” also displays harmony vocals along with instrumental solos. Be on the lookout for a band performance in the Northern California area. Their bluegrassy versions of folk classics are a delight to see and hear.