Americana Carols
Matt Combs & Nate Strasser presents
AMERICANA CAROLS
Grammy & Oscar nominated musicians, Matt Combs and Nate Strasser, joined forces in 2019 to create AMERICANA CAROLS.
Recorded in a 100 year old Gothic revival grey stone church, AMERICANA CAROLS is a fresh take on the classic Christmas Carols we all know and love, but with a riveting Bluegrass twist inspired by the folk music of Appalachia.
AMERICANA CAROLS was one of five albums listed on the 2019 New Roots Christmas Albums list along side other famous musicians, Los Lobos, Keb ‘Mo, The McCrary Sisters, and Josh Rouse. The featured single, Appalachian Rhapsody, is a captivating Nashville Americana orchestra piece that will leave listeners playing it all year long.
Produced by, and all music Performed and Arranged or *Composed by
NATE STRASSER & MATT COMBS
Featuring Artists:
Austin Hoke (cello)
Jack Jezzro (bass)
Kris Wilkinson (viola)
Lee Hogue (guitar)
Joe Palmaccio from The Place for Mastering (Mastering Engineer)
Briana Tyson (*vocals)
David Angell (violin)
Sam Bacco (percussion)
David Davidson (violin)
Ryan Yount (Recording and Mixing Engineer)
The project was recorded in the renowned Ocean Way Studio in Nashville, TN.
This album benefits the Mission Work of
East Brentwood Presbyterian Church in Brentwood, TN
“For those seeking a mostly instrumental soundtrack to the season, this is a shiny little gem released independently by East Brentwood Presbyterian Church as a fund-raiser. Strasser, the church's music director, plays piano. Combs is a veteran Nashville fiddler/violinist with major credits on the road, stage and studio, including recent work for Dan Auerbach's Easy Eye Records. Most of these selections pair the musicians in fresh arrangements of classics. Singer Briana Tyson joins on "O Holy Night" and "Go Tell It On The Mountain." The showpiece here is "Appalachian Rhapsody," a co-composed, 16-minute orchestral work in the American classical school that was immaculately recorded at Oceanway Studio.”
— Craig Havighurst
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Matt Combs
Matt Combs, a long time resident of Nashville, Tennessee, and the staff fiddler and mandolinist for The Grand Ole Opry, can be heard nearly every weekend kicking off America’s longest running radio show with the sound of the Grand Ole Opry fiddle. This is a tradition that dates back to the beginnings of the Opry, and one he proudly carries on to this day. In addition to playing in the Opry’s house band, Matt also tours with legendary singer and country music icon Reba McIntire.
Since moving to Nashville after graduating with a Bachelor of Music from the University of Michigan, Matt has played with many of the best singers and players in country, bluegrass and old time music—including 11 members of the Country Music Hall of Fame. During this time, Matt was nominated for a Grammy and won the 2012 Grandmaster Traditional Fiddle contest.
Matt’s Television work has included appearances on “Late Night with David Letterman”, “The View”, “Nashville”, and other musical specials on ABC, PBS, and CMT.
In addition to his busy playing schedule, Matt maintains his position as Head of the Fiddle Department at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music, and records music all around Nashville studios and at his home studio in East Nashville.
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Nate Strasser
Nate Strasser is the music director for EBPC and the assistant music director for the musical theater program at Belmont University. He received his BA in Jazz Studies from West Virginia University, and his Master’s in film scoring from the University of Southern California.
Since moving to Nashville, Nate has become a sought-after session musician and composer. In 2019, he was the pianist for the Oscar-nominated film Harriet. Strasser joined forces with Matt Combs, a featured performer on the Grand Ole Opry, to compose a piece for fiddle, piano and full orchestra entitled Appalachian Rhapsody. Since then, they collaborated with LA filmmaker, Alan Manzo, to produce a film based off of their composition entitled “We Were Strangers Once Too”. The piece is also featured on their Christmas album Americana Carols. The album was released last fall as a fundraiser for EBPC. For more info visit AmericanaCarols.org