Blurring the Lines: A conversation with Liam Purcell
Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road will play Brevard July 18. File photo
Straddling the line between neo-traditional and progressive bluegrass, Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road are a fiercely ambitious and purposely elusive melodic force to be reckoned with in the live music scene of Western North Carolina and beyond.
“I think a lot of it has to do with the amount of expression that acoustic string instruments possess. There’s so much you can do with a four-piece bluegrass group and so many different sounds you can get out of it,” Purcell said. “I find myself thinking less and less about genres, but I also like the bluegrass and Americana world because of the community around it.”
Formed in Deep Gap, also the home turf of the late guitar icon Doc Watson, Cane Mill Road has been rapidly rising through the ranks. With Purcell on mandolin, the band also includes fiddler Ella Jordan, guitarist Rob McCormac, bassist Jacob Smith and banjoist Zack Vickers. As of late, the group resides in Nashville, Tennessee.
“I started Cane Mill Road out of my love for music and the desire to perform onstage,” Purcell said. “I first put the group together in 2014 and we’ve been playing consistently ever since. Over the first couple years we played locally, then regionally, then started to gig nationally.”
Beyond an appearance early in the band’s career on “David Holt’s State of Music” series on PBS, the outfit has also received several nominations from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), including “Momentum Band of the Year” and “Momentum Instrumentalist of Year” nods.
“There were also a couple years where we just hammered the touring schedule, taking almost every gig that came in so we could build our fan base and develop a reputation,” Purcell said. “And it was really hard to do all that since I was a full-time college student [at the time], but it really has helped us now.”
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With Cane Mill Road’s 2016 release, “Five Speed,” the album debuted at #9 on the Billboard Bluegrass Album Chart, an impressive feat for such a new group. Earlier this year, Cane Mill Road released its latest album, “Yellow Line,” to acclaim in Americana and bluegrass circles.
“As far as the steps and decisions that led us to where we are, I think original material was a large part of it,” Purcell said. “There are so many bands rehashing the same traditional material that we wanted to stand out and express ourselves through writing.”
In 2019, Cane Mill Road released a live album, “Let’s All Do Some Living,” with that year also yielding key performance slots at legendary festivals like MerleFest and Grey Fox.
“The biggest thing that bluegrass has going for it right now is that almost every band is playing their music because they love it,” Purcell said. “It isn’t like pop music, where an artist gets handed lyrics and a backing track.”
To note, in 2022, Purcell roared through the RockyGrass Instrumental Championships in Colorado, ultimately becoming the only musician to ever win first-place simultaneously in the highly skilled mandolin, banjo and guitar competitions.
“Bluegrass and other traditional music is going through another big resurgence in interest,” Purcell said. “It’s still very hard to make a living on the professional level, but there’s a much broader audience for it now than 10 years ago. I think this is thanks to the innovation of modern bands, which is bringing new fans to the style.”
But, even with the musical lines blurred by Cane Mill Road, whether consciously or subconsciously, the tone and textures radiating from the quintet is something to behold. It’s a sound that has echoes of the past, but also of what lies ahead — the future of string music seemingly now in good hands.
“Some bands are playing traditional styles really well and people love it. And some bands are taking progressive to the limit and people love that, too,” Purcell said. “Bluegrass is a genre where live performance still matters most — and that’s a wonderful thing.”
185 King Street
It was just about five years ago when Madeline Magin and her husband, Cody Noble, decided to take the plunge on a longtime dream by opening Noblebrau Brewing in Brevard. The endeavor also included taking over the storied 185 King St. music venue/restaurant housed in the building.
“Our goal is to provide an amazing experience to people — to come and play, and to come and listen,” Magin said. “We want everyone to enjoy the beautiful music of our local artists and national touring groups. We’re constantly doing our best to uphold those two goals and continue to grow in the process.”
And in the time since, 185 King St. and the brewery have quickly become a highly sought-after beacon of music, culinary delights and genuine connectivity in the small mountain town — this beehive of commerce, culture and community.
“And it’s the local people who really appreciate having that option to either be inside or outside for a show — it’s them who keep coming and supporting us, who ensure our survival as a business,” Magin said.
Want to go?
Americana/bluegrass act Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 18, at 185 King St. in Brevard.
Doors open at 4 p.m. Tickets are $7 per person, with two-top tables and couches also available for seated reservation.
For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to 185kingst.com and go to the “Events” tab.
