Uncle Shuffelo & His Haint Hollow Hootenanny

Uncle Shuffelo and His Haint Hollow Hootenanny are unmistakably part of a tradition of homegrown, Middle Tennessee old-time music that Mike Seeger referred to as coming from the “true vine.” The group hails from Bedford County in the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee and some of the members of the band live on the farm near Haint Hollow Road that has been in the family since the 1820s. This farm is also where the band hosts its annual MaupinFest event that celebrates the legendary flatfoot buck dancer, Thomas Maupin, and the rich, regional old-time music scene of the area.
While they describe themselves as not being a “family band,” they are kin and are in good company with other well-known Middle Tennessee family music makers such as Uncle Dave and his son, Dorris, Sam & Kirk McGee, Theron Hale and Daughters, the Binkley Brothers, Uncle Jimmy Thompson and his daughter, Eva, and others. Maybe it was just a matter of convenience but clearly there is a lots to be said for the distinctive bond of family when it comes to making great country music. The band sings and plays music that is traditional, fun and diverse but that also fits their shared strengths and wide interests in new and old music. You’ll hear tunes on this record that were pulled from popular old-time country and string band sources such as Mainers Mountaineers, the Tennessee Ramblers, Uncle Dave Macon, Jimmie Rodgers and Earl Johnson. African American blues and gospel are crucial parts of the old-time repertoire and the band has outstanding arrangements of songs from Jim & Andrew Baxter, Kokomo Arnold and sacred singer and zither player, Washington Phillips. That said, scratchy 78s aren’t the only places they go looking for good songs. Numbers from modern groups such as the ever-influential New Lost City Ramblers, trad-amalgamators, Crow Quill Night Owls and party-time, rock ‘n’ roll shredmeisters, Van Halen, are also represented in the setlist. This assortment of sources and influences, popular and traditional, old and new, is very much in keeping with the broad repertoires of string bands from the golden age of the music.