First released in 2015, "The Fireside Season" is the sophomore album from southwest Virginia singer-songwriter Rance Garrison. Following up 2012's "Black Crow," "The Fireside Season" explores the themes of death, spirituality, mortality, and life in the mysterious landscape of Central Appalachia.
Whurk! Magazine's review of the album: Norton is a tiny city so far south and west that it might as well be part of Kentucky or Tennessee; Rance Garrison calls it home. The old country and blues influences, like the banjo plucking on “Spies” or the Tom Waits impersonation on “In Heaven,” seem natural enough. Even the religious speech samples creeping on a few tracks weren’t obviously out of place. But when the synths hit (not to mention the auto-tuned vocals on “Die Laughing”), I was floored. The Fireside Season is Virginia’s most secret weapon: a moonshine-swilling, snake-handling, junk-shooting, redemption-seeking opus." http://whurk.org/30/album-roundup
All tracks written and produced by Rance Garrison.
Rance Garrison: guitars, synths, vocals, piano, banjo, bass, and percussion
Kristina Garrison: backing vocals on "Courage To Be"
With various samples taken from Paul Tillich, Brother Claude Ely, and various found recordings.
The cover photo is of the Great Stone Face, a natural stone structure outside the tiny town of Pennington Gap, Virginia, which is located in the Appalachian Mountain region of the state. Pennington Gap is the hometown of the artist.
