When it comes to bluegrass, there are two schools of thought these days - traditional bluegrass and newgrass, a hybrid of rock, jazz and bluegrass.

The Steeldrivers fall somewhere in between, their music described on their website as “old as the hills, but fresh as the morning dew.” It’s a perfect way to describe their new album “Reckless,” out now on Rounder Records.

The band is made up of banjo master Richard Bailey, a truly amazing player with whom I’ve had the great pleasure of jamming last year at the Americana Music Festival; Mike Fleming on bass, who’s played with David Olney, Holly Dunn, Kevin Welch and many more; Mike Henderson on mandolin, who’s played with everyone from Mark Knopfler to the late Solomon Burke; Tammy Rogers wielding a smokin’ fiddle whose credits include Jim Lauderdale and Patty Griffin; and Muscle Shoals’ own Gary Nichols has recently joined the band, replacing guitarist Chris Stapleton, who recently left the band to concentrate on songwriting.

I had the great pleasure of seeing the band just a month or so ago at a Rounder Records party, and this band truly embodies the spirit of traditional bluegrass while exploring the wider terrains of country, blues and soul.

“Reckless” opens with a bluegrass rave-up called “The Reckless Side of Me” and never looks back. Personal favorites on the album include “Good Corn Liquor,” “Peacemaker,” “You Put The Hurt On Me,” “Guitars, Whiskey, Guns and Knives,” and the album’s closer, “Ghosts of Mississippi,” but there is not one clunker on this record.

The performances are stellar, the vocal harmonies are tight, the music is joyous. The band is also featured in the new movie “Get Low,” performing in the film and contributing four songs to the soundtrack CD along with Alison Krauss and Gene Austin, among others.

Their debut album was named one of the top 50 country albums of the decade, and I’m betting “Reckless” will be included in the next Top 50 as well.
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