Bryan Sutton is connecting generations of acoustic guitar players on From Roots to Branches (Vol. 1), an 11-song collection of duets arriving Aug. 28 through Mountain Home Music Company.
The album gathers Sutton’s recent run of collaborations with younger and contemporary players while also reaching back to previously unreleased recordings with late guitar legends Tony Rice and Doc Watson.
That approach gives the project a natural connection to Sutton’s 2006 album Not Too Far From the Tree, another duet collection built around the relationships between generations of acoustic musicians.
“I feel fortunate to be able to share what I’ve called these sort of ‘musical conversations’ with friends of mine,” Sutton said. “I am as much of a fan of any of these people as any other guitarist out there, or any music fan.”
Bryan Sutton Revisits a Recording With Tony Rice
The album’s focus track is “Storms Are On the Ocean,” a previously unreleased duet Sutton recorded with Tony Rice in the early 2000s.
For Sutton, the recording carries a history that reaches back to Asheville, North Carolina, and Mountain Home founder Mickey Gamble.
Sutton was just out of high school when he spent time around Hear Here recording studio, where Gamble hired Rice to produce projects.
“I would have coffee with him at the studio, or go to lunch and sit in his car and listen to Earl Klugh,” Sutton recalled.
Those encounters came while Sutton was still trying to establish himself professionally.
Years later, the unreleased duet now gives Sutton a way to honor both Rice and Gamble.
“I see, in this new Tony Rice song, a connection both with Not Too Far From the Tree and with Mickey, who helped us meet each other so many years ago,” Sutton said. “It feels like a cool way of bringing it all together.”
‘From Roots to Branches’ Pairs Sutton With Multiple Generations
The album extends beyond the Rice recording with a wide range of guitar partners.
Billy Strings joins Sutton on “The Devil Went Down to Deep Gap,” a piece that pushes their flatpicking into heavier territory.
Other collaborators include Sierra Hull, Trey Hensley, Chris Eldridge, Cody Kilby, Jake Stargel, Kenny Smith, Joe Bonamassa and Tommy Emmanuel.
That mix gives the title its meaning. Some of Sutton’s partners represent musicians who helped shape his own playing, while others are players who have come up alongside him or after him.
The result is less a collection of guest appearances than a series of one-on-one musical conversations.
Sutton said that intimacy is part of what makes the project different.
“To take the opportunity to sit more intimately, with just two guitars…what we have here in this project is kind of unique,” he said.
An 11-Song Guitar Conversation
From Roots to Branches (Vol. 1) includes both previously released collaborations and two unreleased tracks.
The full track list is:
- “The Devil Went Down to Deep Gap”
- “Three Star Hornpipe”
- “Working Man Blues”
- “It Takes All Kinds to Make a World”
- “Grandfather’s Clock”
- “Crazy Creek”
- “Blue Night”
- “Port Tobacco (Live)”
- “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down”
- “Storms Are On the Ocean”
- “Road To Columbus”
The final two tracks provide the newest material for the album. “Storms Are On the Ocean” features Rice, while “Road To Columbus” pairs Sutton with Cody Kilby.
For Sutton, the project arrives at a point in his career where the line between influence, peer and mentor has become increasingly fluid.
He can share a track with someone who helped shape his playing, then turn around and record with a younger guitarist who views Sutton in much the same way.
That makes From Roots to Branches less about proving who plays fastest and more about documenting how musical ideas move from one generation to the next.