Smoke Behind the Clouds

Smoke Behind the Clouds taps the deep, rich reservoir of the old-time American songbook. Led by East Tennessee native Joseph Decosimo (fiddle, banjo, lead vocals), the Bucking Mules also feature Luke Richardson (banjo, harmonica), Karen Celia Heil (guitar) and Joe DeJarnette (bass); all of them sing. They offer up 17 interpretations of (mostly) traditional bluegrass fare from the Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee Valley and Blue Ridge Mountain regions. The band play with the sharpness of tone and easy sophistication that comes from spending the majority of the year on the Americana, bluegrass and folk festival and workshop circuits.
Outstanding performances here include an enchanting balled called ‘Georgia Belles’, which was inspired by Manco Sneed, a legendary fiddler and part Cherokee Indian from western North Carolina; and ‘Greenback’, a variation on a tune by banjoist and Georgia native W Guy Bruce.