King Wilkie, a young, six-piece bluegrass outfit from Charlottesville, Virginia, takes its name from Bill Monroe's horse. That says a lot about these boys’ tastes. Rather than pursue commercial bluegrass, they pay homage to the standard bearers Monroe, Ralph Stanley and the Louvin Brothers, with nods to Gram Parsons and the Byrds. The group’s second album features plenty of sparkling picking and high lonesome singing, especially on anxious songs about the loss of innocence like “Savannah” and “Wrecking Ball.” July 3
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