Songs: Nighttime, Wild Geese Cry Again, A Jealous Heart And A Worried Mind, Will Work For Food, Stable Boy Blues, The Green Willow, Let The Harvest Go To Seed, Ruby Ridge, Pretty Little Blanco River Waltz, Weep Not For The Dead, Pure White Sail, Bluegrass Boy

Personnel: Peter Rowan-- mandolin and vocal: Laurie Lewis-- harmony vocal and fiddle; Charles Sawtelle-- guitar and harmony vocal; Richard Greene-- fiddle; Mike Mumford-- banjo; Roy Huskey, Jr.-- bass and harmony vocal; Buell Neidlinger-- bass; Del McCoury-- harmony vocal

If anyone can get away with calling their new recording project Bluegrass Boy and not expect to draw howls of derision from the bluegrass minions it is Peter Rowan. Fans of his know that his influences are far and wide, and you never know what style of music he is going to be playing from gig to gig. Yet when he was in his 20s he played with the late legend, and Father of Bluegrass Music, Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys, so no matter what Peter may sound like today he definitely has bluegrass blood flowing through his veins.

Since his stint with Bill Monroe, Peter Rowan has traveled all over the musical map -- from the rock band Seatrain and all-star bluegrass band Old And In The Way to a folk trio with his brothers and his Tex-Mex band the Free Mexican Air Force. Yet no matter how far he has roamed he keeps coming back to bluegrass, and the timing of this recording -- released just two weeks after Bill's death this past September-- couldn't have been more poignant.

Bluegrass Boy features 12 new songs written entirely by Peter Rowan, including tributes to his longtime mentor Monroe called Let The Harvest Go To Seed and the title cut, Bluegrass Boy. Rowan has assembled some quality players to back him up, and he plays mandolin on all the songs. Laurie Lewis makes Rowan sound even better than ever by singing harmony on half the songs. There are also two former Bluegrass Boys helping out here, with Del McCoury singing harmony on one song and Richard Greene sawing away on the fiddle on every song but The Green Willow, where Laurie fiddles instead. There is solid guitar playing throughout (and harmony singing on Ruby Ridge) by Charles Sawtelle of Hot Rize fame, and Mike Munford picks the banjo. Veteran bassman Roy Huskey, Jr. shares the standup duties with Buell Neidlinger.

Peter Rowan has been a busy man this past year. He backed up Steve Earle on his acoustic album; he recorded a wonderful duo CD with dobro king Jerry Douglas called Yonder and toured with same; he did some Old And In The Way reunion shows; he has flown with his Free Mexican Air Force; and he has returned to his roots with this new bluegrass recording.

The high-lonesome bluegrass baton has been passed on from the Father of Bluegrass to one of his "sons," Bluegrass Boy Peter Rowan. I think Bill is looking down from that little cabin home in the sky knowing that the tradition he began is in good hands.