“The people of Kentucky have a deep connection to their home state, and
the stunning vocal combination of Bradley and Holly
on this duet captures that emotion.” – Dennis Duff
Nashville, TN –– Gracey Holler Music releases the first single from the label’s upcoming SONGS FROM LYON COUNTY album with an emotional rendering of “When I Leave Kentucky.“ Featuring guest vocalists IBMA award-winner Bradley Walker and rising star Holly Pitney, the single is available to radio programmers via Airplay Direct. Fans can purchase the track on CD Baby. A must-have for lovers of Bluegrass, Country and Gospel, the single was produced by Dennis Duff and Cody Kilby (who also plays guitar and mandolin), and features Andy Leftwich on fiddle, plus Alan Bartram on bass.Fiddle and mandolin kick off the track, setting an ethereal counterpoint for Walker’s earthy, dirt-road baritone. The first chorus creates a shimmering moment of melded perfection: sun sparkling on a summer’s glade, a cool dip of hot feet in a trickling mountain stream, a cloud-guessing game in childhood with the tickle of grass on your back. When Pitney takes the lead in the second verse, she draws the listener in like chimney smoke calls to the traveler on a cold winter’s day:
These mountain‘s, these forest and fields these rivers that roam
Forged by the hand of God this land that I call home
I know I walk these hills only by God‘s grace
I‘d have to leave this world to find a better place
(CH) When I leave Kentucky
They‘ll lay me in the ground
When I leave Kentucky
You‘ll know I‘m heaven bound (D.K. Duff)
The song is anchored in feelings known to only a lucky few: a binding, gripping love for a place from which one would never intentionally part. These “chains“are stronger than the realities of iron or steel … they are freely worn by the bearer and are lighter than air. Walker and Pitney give freely with nuanced vocals that reflect need, longing, determination and an inevitable grace in equal measure.