By Devon Legere.
American roots music legend Peter Rowan has just been nominated for a 2023 GRAMMY Award for Best Bluegrass Album. The nomination is for his recently released album, Calling You From My Mountain, on Rebel Records. The new album is his second for Rebel and will be his seventh GRAMMY nomination in a long and illustrious career that saw him win a GRAMMY Award for his contributions to True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe in 1997. With over sixty years spent on stages across the USA and the world, Rowan’s an American original, an unparalleled interpreter of the many branches of American roots music. This GRAMMY nomination follows Peter Rowan’s induction into the International Bluegrass Music Association's Hall of Fame in September. “Oh my goodness!” Rowan said when reached for comment. “To be nominated for a Grammy this year! I’m honored and happy for the recognition of my band’s hard work on Calling You From My Mountain. Thank you all who nominated us!”
For over six decades, GRAMMY Award winning artist Peter Rowan has been at the forefront of acoustic American music, inspiring generations of new musicians and working creatively with the roots of bluegrass, newgrass, Americana, country rock, jazz, even reggae, Hawaiian, and Tejano music. A relentlessly curious, brilliant songwriter, Rowan’s had the kind of career that would give him ample opportunity to kick back and rest on his laurels now, but his new album, Calling You From My Mountain (released June 24 on Rebel Records), shows that Rowan’s voice is as vital as ever, fueled by the history of our great traditions and excited for their future. Guest spots on the album from friends like Billy Strings, Shawn Camp, Molly Tuttle, Lindsay Lou, and Mark Howard, not to mention Rowan’s multi-generational band, show that Rowan’s inspiration transcends age. For these past sixty+ years, Rowan’s been a musical sponge, soaking up ideas and influences from his many travels and his roving search for new traditions, using these sounds to create new songs and new musical genres at will. “We at Rebel Records could not be more thrilled that Peter Rowan’s Calling You From My Mountain has been nominated for a GRAMMY Award!” said Mark Freeman, the owner of Rebel Records. “It has been a banner year for Peter with the release of this album and his recent induction into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. We are so happy for him!”
As one of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, Peter Rowan’s in a unique place to evaluate the master’s musical intentions, and after all these years he’s beginning to understand what Monroe saw in him. “I think as a man in his 50s looking at a 22 year old kid, he saw me,” Rowan says, “he saw who I was before I did. He’d always yell at me on stage ‘Sing it like Pete Rowan!’ He always wanted the individuality to come out.” Now, Rowan’s in a similar position that Monroe was when he took Rowan on. That’s why it matters that Rowan’s new album features young roots music luminaries like Tuttle and Strings and Rowan’s own band features younger players like Chris Henry on mandolin, Max Wareham on banjo, Julian Pinelli on fiddle, and Eric Thorin on acoustic bass. “I’ve got a young band, it’s fabulous,” Rowan exclaims. “They’re bursting with ideas. They’re in their years of inspiration. They’re really quick learners and their ears are wide open because this generation is built on everything we did, dare I say, all those years ago.”
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