Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen Announce 'HOLD ON' Album via Compass Records Group
FRANK SOLIVAN & DIRTY KITCHEN ANNOUNCE
NEW FULL-LENGTH ALBUM
HOLD ON
OUT FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 VIA COMPASS RECORDS
LEAD SINGLE AND TITLE TRACK OUT NOW
Above: album cover art for HOLD ON
“Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen have certainly ranked among the ‘buzz’ bluegrass bands...a razor sharp, confident quartet influenced by a broad range of the last four decades of bluegrass music.”
— Bluegrass Unlimited
“Frank Solivan just keeps getting better, as a songwriter, arranger, singer and not the least, instrumentalist.”
— Bluegrass Today
NASHVILLE, TN (August 3, 2022) — Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen are true masters of progressive bluegrass, drawing new listeners to the genre through their wide-open approach to the music. This dynamic quartet, known for delivering some of the most electrifying live performances on the bluegrass circuit, bring it up a notch on their newest release HOLD ON. Set for release on Friday, September 2 via Compass Records, triple-threat Solivan shines as a vocalist and mandolinist and shows his stuff as a songwriter on the album’s 11 tracks, six of which were written or co-written by Solivan himself.
The title track, and album’s lead single, was unveiled last week with Bluegrass Today. HOLD ON is available for pre-order/pre-save now and will be released digitally across all DSPs and digital download as well as physical CD.
There’s an overarching theme of optimism that runs through HOLD ON and a spirit of hope for better days ahead. Solivan explains: "I was going through the hardest time of my life leading up to the pandemic. And then the world stopped! Exploring some of the subject matter and song ideas that came out of those difficult times led me to these songs. Songs that helped bring me out of a seemingly hopeless situation. Finding light where there was darkness and trying to relay some of my journey of figuring out how to ‘hold on’. My hope is that the listener will be able to relate and will have these songs to help them get through difficult times.”
Together with bandmates banjo master Mike Munford, guitarist Chris Luquette and bassist Jeremy Middleton, the band dazzles on covers including Newgrass Revival’s, “Sail to Australia” (featuring NGR’s bassist John Cowan on harmony vocals), Buzz Busby’s “Lost” and Orleans’ “Sails,” bringing their instrumental savvy and deep groove to each track.
But the real heart of the album is the original material Solivan contributes here including some outstanding new songs destined to become standards in the bluegrass canon. The upbeat tracks “I’m Already Gone” and “Hold On” which open the album are both ready-made classics, the latter written by Solivan in about 15 minutes right before the recording session. “Goodbye Goodbye,” co-written by Solivan and his cousin, singer/songwriter Megan McCormick, has one of the most catchy choruses you’ll hear in any kind of music and the achingly beautiful “Modesto,” also co-written by Megan McCormick, is a gorgeous tip of the hat to the town where Solivan was born.
The album also features a re-record of the Solivan-penned instrumental dazzler “Scorchin’ the Gravy,” the first song the band ever played together. This version, recorded live with no overdubs, leaves little doubt why the quartet is a multiple IBMA Instrumental Award winner.
With the release of HOLD ON, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen plant another flag in their journey of musical exploration, continuing their seemingly endless upward trajectory, and raising the bar for bluegrass in the process.
Tracklisting for HOLD ON:
“I’m Already Gone”
“Hold On”
“Goodbye Goodbye”
“Find My Way”
“Modesto”
“Scorchin’ The Gravy”
“Queen Of The Mountain”
“Virginia Is For Lovers”
“Lost”
“Sail To Australia”
“Sails”
Above: Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
Credit: Scott Simontacchi