For her third album, Rattlin’ Bones, Bronwyn, a Grammy-winning artist and two-timeIBMA “Fiddle Player of the Year,” decided to purposely leave her comfort zone and diveheadfirst into a new, unknown realm of musical possibility for the acclaimed artist —Songwriting.“If I’m going to be an artist and a front person, I’m going to need my own material thatfits the live show,” Bronwyn says. “It definitely felt like a very steep learning curve, andit’s been very humbling, but the songwriting piece has been sort of the next step forwhat I want to do.”While her debut album, Fiddler’s Pastime (2020), was an instrumental offeringshowcasing Bronwyn’s fiddle skillset and prowess, it was the sophomore release, I BuiltA World (2024), that introduced the world to her singing style. And yet, with Rattlin’Bones, it truly feels like Bronwyn has dug deep within to finally uncover and embraceher unique talents and sonic tones.“In a lot of ways, life has settled for me, where I’ve gotten married and it feels likecertain pieces have fallen into place,” Bronwyn says. “And that’s given me space to stirup more chaos in my life by deciding to start my own band.”Backed by a whirlwind array of pickers, Bronwyn has elevated herself into the nationalspotlight of Americana, bluegrass and roots music as of late, which is why the urge tojump into the studio and capture this momentum and energy seemed like the perfecttiming with Rattlin’ Bones.“I was just trying to follow my nose, basically,” Bronwyn says of the recording process.“What turns me on? What would I want to listen to? And I wanted to make a record thatyou’d want to turn up so loud, that it’d rattle your bones.”“All those moments underneath the clear blue sky/Even though you kept it going on thesly,” Bronwyn soars on “Johnny Ray.” “By the time we found our way across thetrack/Johnny Ray’d already been to hell and back.”This unrelenting force behind Rattlin’ Bones is due to Bronwyn hitting the road hardlately alongside her solo band, which includes mandolinist Tristan Scroggins, banjoistFrank Evans, bassist Larry Cook and guitarist Grant Dresnok. The ensemble is thecream of Nashville’s bluegrass crop, with their electrifying musical chemistry radiating aseamless sense of camaraderie and creativity.With her former group, Americana/bluegrass juggernaut Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway,dissolving amicably last year, the window of opportunity opened up for Bronwyn topursue her own artistic endeavors, under the bright stage lights and in the recordingbooth.Co-produced by Bronwyn and Brent Truitt (The SteelDrivers) at Truitt’s Nashville studio,and also at the Tractor Shed in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, Rattlin’ Bones features someof Music City’s finest: dobroist Jerry Douglas, guitarists Bryan Sutton and Frank Rische,mandolinist Harry Clark, bassists Dennis Crouch, Jeff Picker, banjoist Wes Corbett,drummer Miles Miller and Bronwyn’s former Golden Highway bandmate, DominickLeslie, as well as Scroggins, Evans, and Cook.The album also features a duet with Nashville’s underground country music hero Timbo,and harmonies provided by songwriting great, Darrell Scott, among others. “Witheverything on the record? I feel like it makes for a good live show, which was my intent,”Bronwyn says. “So, it’s been fun to be playing these songs live over the last few monthsand testing it all out on the road.”When asked about how she discovered her vocal style, and where that side of her craftwas initially sparked, Bronwyn points to her time in Golden Highway. She was routinelyencouraged by Tuttle and bassist Shelby Means to lean into her voice, ultimatelycultivating this new side of her musicality.“There was a large part of my life where I didn’t sing and was only interested in playingthe fiddle,” Bronwyn notes. “But being on tour with Golden Highway and around Mollyand Shelby, these great female bluegrass vocalists, it shifted everything.”In the midst of a live performance, Bronwyn commands this relaxed confidence standingin front of the microphone. For a musician well-known for her instrumental abilities, it’smesmerizing to watch Bronwyn sing and play through a set of her latest rollickingmelodies — the band itself swirling around her in this joyous revival of the heart andsoul conjured with ease each night.“Fronting this band pushes me to grow as an artist, and as a human,” Bronwyn says.“And it’s been exciting to notice changes in how we’re playing together, how we’re ableto tighten arrangements and come up with transitions, where everything is just going tokeep evolving.”With that evolution of oneself and their craft, comes a sense of sheer gratitude forBronwyn, both tangible and intrinsic. It’s this glance over her shoulder at what’s come topass since she left the starting line of her hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia,something captured in “Virginia Gal.”“In the misty morning sunlight she’s already up the road/Halfway to the Blue RidgeMountains you didn’t think she’d really go,” Bronwyn rolls through the number. “She’sjust following the sound of a tune she heard once in a dream/But that tune just keeps onchanging and she don’t know what it means.”“As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a fiddler. And being a fiddler has led meto some of the most amazing experiences,” Bronwyn reflects. “And I’m so grateful tohave been able to do a lot of things I always wanted to do. That has sort of led to mefeeling a sense of freedom where I’m not trying to prove anything to anybody, I’m justenjoying creating music that means something to me.”

Mike Oberst & Justine Cefalu