Hadley Music Group Records

This Lincolnton, Georgia born talent thrives these days in Nashville, Tennessee where the past few years have seen the release of her debut solo album Here I Am which gave her a Top 20 Bluegrass Unlimited hit on the song “Ain’t Life Sweet” as well as a month long stint hosting the Bluegrass Ridge TV program on the Heartland TV network where two of her videos from her debut album have been in rotation.

The album continues to chart in the Roots Music Report charts, even as she launches her second solo album on LUK Records, Run Away.

The past year of life’s ups and downs has helped Rebekah Long carve the songs on this new effort. Under the guiding hand of Donna Ulisse, who once again produced and helped co-write many of the songs, this project reflects some of the trials Rebekah Long has seen these last few years. Scott Vestal’s banjo, Mike Bub’s upright bass playing, Patrick McAvenue’s fiddle and mandolin, and Cody Kilby’s acoustic guitar talents make up the bulk of the tracks though the fiddling of Shad Cobb, Mark Fain on bass and Jarrod Walker’s mandolin playing shines on another. Donna and husband Rick Stanley blend harmonies throughout and Gene McDonald adds some fine bass vocals.

Some writers feel they must live what they write about so you will find glimpses of Rebekah Long’s life through several selections on this project. An example is the rollicking “Georgia Bound”, a toe tapping barnburner of her yearning to see the place she grew up. For those who follow Rebekah on Facebook, “Fishin ‘ On The Cumberland” (a tri-written song penned with Jerry Salley and Donna Ulisse) is no doubt about her love for the great outdoors and this feel good lyric and melody ring true.

Of course, what goes up must come down as lamented in the story of “Woodland Street” and “A Place Beyond The Clouds”, both touching on the loss this past year of her husband Ben Speer. “Every Time I Fall Asleep” and “Welcome Me Back Home” borrows from this same melancholy state of mind and through a forlorn melody she writes about longing, regret and hope.

“I’ve Seen The Light” is a tried and true old feeling track complete with a clever lyrical spin on her love story and sure to have an audience wanting to sing along.

Not all of Rebekah’s songs are biographical and she proves writing outside the truth can showcase good storytelling as in the haunting song “My Greatest Shame” where a mothers love for her child leads her into a very dark secret. The title track, “Run Away”, sounds just like its name. When the music takes off so does the story of a girl watching her man race into the night after she tells him she loves him.

Rebekah’s delightful performance on the song “Honky Cat” written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin demonstrates her ability to claim a standard as her own and her version of London Wainwright’s “The Swimming Song” is as fresh as a summer morning at the waters edge.

A tribute and highlight to this collection is the duet between Rebekah Long and late husband Ben Speer through the upbeat “Lay Your Isaac Down”, blending her love for bluegrass and Ben’s love for gospel music and creating a memory for the ages.

With her newly formed band, be looking for Long at fesitvals and other performance venues where you can enjoy her humor, high energy and most of all, her talented delivery of some mighty fine music.