As the world of Bluegrass continues to evolve, Chris Jones & The Night Drivers have taken advantage of the creative environment that keeps the tenets of tradition next to those of individual expression. The result is The Choosing Road, an album of refined dynamics, themes informed by personal growth and some of the most intimate songwriting to date. The album is available now from Mountain Home Music Company.
Jones and his bandmates and co-writers, Jon Weisberger on bass and vocals, Mark Stoffel on mandolin and vocals, and Gina Furtado on banjo and vocals, have found a sweet spot in their collaboration on this recording.
“I decided this time around to open up more with my writing, be a little more free and personal, and worry less about how songs would be perceived by different audiences, or how they’d be classified,” Jonessays. “A lot seemed to flow from there, and that in turn led the band members to come up with some fresh musical ideas as well. The result I think was music that’s more distinctly ‘us’ than it’s ever been.”
“Bend in the Road,” written by Jones and Weisberger, was this album’s first single. Released in the Spring of 2018, the song raced to the top of the Bluegrass radio charts to land the #1 spot multiple months in a row. It sets the album’s tone and speaks to the band’s evolution with themes of change and progression and a sense of not being completely optimistic but hopeful and thoughtful. Two songs in particular share a personal message: “I’ll Watch Her Sail” written by Jones and “Who You Want Me To Be,” written by Jones and Furtado. The latter gained #1 success in radio in 2018. These works give poignant examples of their writers’ need to be honest about how intimate relationships affect us.
The group’s latest single, “Looking For The Bridge” is another composition about hopefulness in “bridging” strained relationships. “I’d say I’ve become a more melody-driven writer,” adds Jones. “I like the melody to be able to stand on its own, even if there were no lyrics. In the case of ‘Looking For the Bridge,’ almost all the melody and the little signature lick came before any of the lyrics did. That’s a first for me. Jonand I collaborated on the lyrics, and it’s really about looking for some way to get back over a divide of time to get a romance back to how it was.”
Other songs include, “Nyhan’s Regret,” an instrumental offering written by Stoffeland Furtado that features renowned Celtic fiddler Liz Carroll; and “I Shouldn’t Even Be Here,” which Weisberger calls a “quintessential Chris Jones song.”
Weisberger comments on his writing partner’s work on The Choosing Road saying, “With every album that we make, one song sticks the most in my mind — and even though I write a lot for the band, it’s usually one of Chris’s solo writes that turns out to be my favorite. Here it’s ‘I Shouldn’t Even Be Here,’” says Weisberger. “It offers a thoughtful look at an unusual story, delivered with a memorable melody and a fresh way of combining just a handful of simple chords to produce a lasting effect.”
Of all the paths they could go down with this new recording this one reflects struggle, freedom, and commentary on today’s culture through meaningful songwriting and collaborative expression. On The Choosing Road, Chris Jones & The Night Drivers are visited by a new muse for a new era.
Listen to The Choosing Road HERE.
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