Trail of the lonesome Pines

When Benson Ramsey says the Pines are profoundly grateful to open for Greg Brown you know he's as sincere as the rich tones coming from his Gibson Blues King guitar.  They're a perfect match, and he knows it.

So do the crowds who are discovering them on their current tour through the cornbelt, which is fertile turf for these Iowa trobadours, both the legend and now the upstarts.

Last night at Shank Hall in Milwaukee, tonight at the Stoughton Opera House in Stoughton, Wisconsin, and Sunday at the Space in Evanston, Illinois.  Connect the dots and you have a trail that must be leading somewhere special for the stunningly talented duo of Ramsey and David Huckfelt. 

Their sparse but richly woven textures provide a poignant definition of roots music. This is it. Two perfectly blended guitars and voices that stir the soul.  Music from the heartland and lyrics from the heart.  Playing songs from their new album Tremolo (Red House Records), the Pines steer you to places you might never have found without them, quiet places where comfort can be gained and realizations fulfilled, even stirring beneath a veil of sadness.

We talk about the end of the world
As we go walking at night
And the nightingale brings the mail
At dawn's early light

Falling down the street
You reached out and took my hand
And sat next next to me by the light of a movie
On the witness stand

We surrender, just to survive
But no matter how hard you try
No, you can't put the tears
Back into your eyes

Boxes of books and clothes
Oh, the compass you gave to me
So I can find, till the end of time
My way to thee

The bells of midnight chime
The moon and your shiny shoes
I've stumbled around, so many towns
Dreaming of you