Asheville-based guitarist and songwriter Tom Dudley and Hoot Holler Music are excited to announce release of “Walkin to the Bridge” a new CD featuring Dudley and a host of local Asheville musicians. “Walkin’ to the Bridge” is the natural result of Tom’s appreciation for mountain music, and for the young artists who honor that heritage as the music evolves with each generation. “Walkin’ to the Bridge” is a journey that covers a lot of ground…… “Different people, different sounds—old as the proverbial hills, and fresh as a blast of bebop banjo.”

Although a solo project, listeners will be treated to the sounds of many of Asheville’s finest musicians who provide instrumental and vocal support to the project. The tunes on this release, six vocals and five instrumentals, are Tom’s original compositions. Although the instrumentation is that of a bluegrass band — guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin and bass — the music itself reveals bluegrass, jazz, blues and Celtic influences, a mix as free-wheeling as its creator.

“Walkin to the Bridge” was independently produced, and mixed and mastered by Grammy winner Nathan Milner at Studio 411 in Asheville and is released on Dudley’s own music label, Hoot and Holler Music. Dudley is already hard at work on plans for other releases from Hoot Holler Music.

The CD is available online for purchase or download at http://www.hoothollermusic.com/buy.htm

It is available at CD baby (for and amazingly low price of only 12.97) or it can be purchased at local stores including The Acoustic Corner in Black Mountain NC, The Stecoah Valley Arts Center in Stecoah NC, and others.

“Tom Dudley’s “Walkin’ To The Bridge” is Americana at it’s best, flirting with bluegrass, country, blues, and old time mountain music. The songwriting, singing, picking, and production all come together for an exceptionally entertaining CD.”

- John Roten, Mountain Music Time, AM1400 The Peak

Originally from New England, Tom Dudley relocated to Asheville in 1995 to work with famed synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog. Dudley’s musical background included studies in jazz performance and arranging at Boston’s Berklee Collge and earlier studies at the Neighborhood Music School in New Haven Connecticut focusing on classical guitar, piano, and music theory. After college, Dudley played briefly in various rock and jazz fusion bands and also explored the “Newgrass” sounds of Tony Rice and David Grisman. Dudley thought he’d left his performing days behind when he moved down South for a career as an electronic technician with the famed Moog synthesizer company.

Soon after arriving in Asheville, he began visiting local bluegrass jam session at venues such as Jack of the Wood and found himself drawn toward the sounds of acoustic music and bluegrass music in particular. He became a founding member of County Farm, an Asheville-based bluegrass band, which he is still a member of.

In 2002, Dudley left Moog Music to make his own music, full-time. “When I moved to Asheville,” he said, “I had no idea I would end up playing in a working band. Leaving Moog to play music was a huge leap of faith. But I had to go for it.”

While busy performing, Dudley felt pulled back to his composing roots as well. His new CD, “Walkin’ to the Bridge,” is the natural result of his appreciation for Asheville’s diverse music traditions. Many fans of his County Farm band will be surprised to hear the versatility and diversity Dudley displays on the new project.

He said, “I was aiming for a real mix of songs. The instrumentation is what you get with a typical bluegrass band. Guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin and bass, but the music covers more ground. There are bluegrass, jazz, blues and Celtic influences. Even a little bebop.”

Tom Dudley’s fine guitar work is featured throughout and in addition in contributes lead vocals on three tracks and also mandolin. “Walkin to the Bridge” includes a host of the talented pickers and singers from the surrounding Asheville area. Featured contributors include Robert Greer (Town Mountain Bluegrass), Cary Fridley (One Leg Up, Low Down Travelers), Daniel Coolik (One Leg Up), Jay Mullenax (County Farm), Paul Leech (County Farm), Lance Mills (Lance Mills and the Cavemen), Nicky Sanders (Steep Canyon Rangers), and Ryan Cavenaugh(Bill Evans Soulgrass band).

Many of the songs on the CD were composed with a specific local musician in mind. For example, his song “Nightbird” was destined from the start for Cary Fridley, who sings this haunting ballad solo and unaccompanied. Fridley is a former Freighthopper, a group that won the “Talent From Towns Under 2000″ competition on NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion.” One of her specialties is music in the old Madison County tradition. “When I wrote ‘Nightbird,’ Dudley said, “I knew I wanted Cary to sing it. Her voice is pure, clear and strong. It fits the song perfectly, and I was delighted that she agreed to record it.”

Local bluegrass fans will be thrilled to know that Robert Greer (of Town Mountain) is the lead singer on the tongue-in-cheek tear-jerker “Etch A Sketch of Love” and the seriously heartfelt “Don’t Mourn For Me.”

Track List for the New CD:

1 Bull Mountain2 Etch A Sketch of Love3 She Loves Me4 Somebody Else’s Rag5 Mail Train6 Nightbird

7 Shining Rock

8 Don’t Mourn For Me

9 Walkin’ to the Bridge

10 Beetle in a Bottle

11 Somebody Else’s Rag (Reprise)

For more information about the CD and the musicians, visit www.hoothollermusic.com.Or contact Tom Dudley at:Hoot Holler Music828-658-1565828-231-6340 (cell) This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it www.hoothollermusic.com

---