Spring will soon ascend on my neck of the Illinois prairie and with it, the sweet smell of spaded earth as I prepare to put in some early garden crops like radishes, lettuce, onions — you know, the salad stuff.

There’s nothing quite like that smell. It’s fresh, it’s sweet, it’s … well, it’s just downright earthy.

I swear, I got a slight whiff of that magical smell when I wrestled with the cellophane wrapping to free Echoes of the Mountains, the latest Rounder CD by Dry Branch Fire Squad. And, if that was merely a whiff, the earthiness was overpowering coming from the speakers.

Burlington, MA – Rounder Records is pleased to announce the January 27 release of Echoes of the Mountains, the first all new studio album from the legendary Dry Branch Fire Squad since 2001’s Hand Hewn. Led by singer, mandolin-picker and raconteur Ron Thomason, Dry Branch Fire Squad is one of the most compelling and unique bluegrass bands to emerge in the past three decades.