New Dusters record: A tribute to Flatt & Scruggs!

The second installment of our tribute series to the old-school, innovators of bluegrass is about here! The first was a tribute to the father of bluegrass, Mr. Bill Monroe. Next up, the legendary Flatt & Scruggs. Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs were actually members of Monroe’s seminal quintet in 1946, but ultimately broke away to form their own band, which had just as big of an impact on the music. Lester set the standard for the soulful singing and thundering G-runs that have become central to the sound, while Earl’s banjo style became the fundamental rhythmic engine of bluegrass. Few musicians have done what Earl did: to create a perfect, emotive style of playing with almost no precedent that remains the gold standard, even after countless influential musicians inherit and evolve that style. Yes, players like Béla Fleck have taken the banjo new places (albeit with Earl’s style as a bedrock element!), but when it comes to bluegrass, banjoists always aspire to the sound, rhythm and articulation of Scruggs’ style. The songs we picked are just a few of the ones we dig, though there are many that fall into that category! There are some lesser known cuts here, but all with that classic vibe. We hope you enjoy our tribute to the incomparable Flatt & Scruggs.