Bluegrass musician and luthier Rick Faris will celebrate the release of his new album, Life’s Parade, with a special performance at 7 p.m. on July 10 in Owensboro.
The show will take place at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum’ museum’s second-floor performance space and will feature Faris and his band playing songs from the new record, which officially drops that night at 11 p.m. Central. Tickets are available at both bluegrasshall.org and rickfaris.com.
“It’s all original tunes that I’ve written, either solo or with friends,” Faris said. “This record features an all-star cast — absolute legends of bluegrass — and it’s really a dream come true to pick with those cats.”
Life’s Parade is Faris’ fourth solo album, released on the Dark Shadow Recording label out of Nashville. Six of the tracks feature a powerhouse ensemble including:
- Dan Tyminski (14-time Grammy winner, known for “Hey Brother” by Avicii and as the singing voice of George Clooney in O Brother, Where Art Thou?)
- Ron Block (Grammy-winning banjo player for Alison Krauss & Union Station)
- Mark Schatz (two-time IBMA Bass Performer of the Year and bassist for Tony Rice)
- Laura Orshaw (award-winning fiddler and vocalist)
Faris’ own band appears on a few tracks, with Henry Burgess on mandolin, Gibson Davis on banjo, and his brother JimBob Faris on bass. Several cuts also feature a Nashville-based band that includes Russ Carson (Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder), Harry Clark, Maddie Denton (East Nash Grass), and Dennis Crouch (Bob Dylan, Vince Gill, Diana Krall).
The opening act for the July 10 concert will be the OCTC Bluegrass Band, led by Scott Napier, instructor of the Bluegrass Music program at Owensboro Community & Technical College.
Faris, who operates Faris Guitar Co. on 2nd Street in downtown Owensboro, said the album’s tone is upbeat and empowering.
“There’s no ‘Debbie Downers’ here,” he said. “This music is really meant to encourage and uplift.”
Faris describes his sound as “refined tradition.”
“We’re not playing exactly like Monroe or Ralph Stanley, but it’s still very much bluegrass. We’ve got an original voice in the tradition,” he said. “The picking is tremendous, and the vocals are modernized. It’s entertaining, and there’s a lot of exciting improvisation.”
The album release show is expected to last approximately two hours, with a brief intermission included.
Faris said fans from around the country are already planning to travel to Owensboro for the show, drawn in by both the venue and the event’s significance.
“We’ve got folks flying in from California. It’s the Hall of Fame and it’s an album release, so it’s a big night,” he said.
Faris, an Owensboro native, has spent more than two decades touring with family bands and professional groups, including Special Consensus, with whom he earned two Grammy nominations and six IBMA awards. He launched his solo career in 2021 and is now touring internationally with his own band.
After the July 10 concert, Faris and his band will perform at bluegrass festivals in Chicago, Wisconsin, the Quad Cities, and Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada, all while juggling a move to a new home in Owensboro.
“There’s a lot going on right now,” Faris said. “But I’m just really grateful for the way things are unfolding.”
