Carried off by a Twister
2010

"Sweet Sunny South is the most unique group recording today.  Their sound is truly peerless.  Their new CD, Carried Off by a Twister, is set to blow you away."  
     Brian McNeal - Prescripton Bluegrass Radio

The latest Sweet Sunny South CD marks the 10th anniversary of the band and finds the members stretching out in all sorts of new directions.  Produced by Phil Wade of the Wilders, the new CD entitled "Carried Off By A Twister" introduces a slew of new tunes and features guest appearances by Denver based jazz heavy, Ron Miles (Bill Frissell, Elvis Costello) on coronet and Phil Wade (The Wilders) on banjo and dobro.  The original artwork created by Bret Berthoff of Halden Woffard and the Hi-Beams signifies the sentiment and vibe of the bands 5th CD .

1. Showtime/Cowdog Stomp (Powers)
2. Two Dolla Pistols (Powers)
3. I'm Satisfied (Powers)
4. Bree's Waltz (Miller)
5. Pardon Me Darlin' (Miller)
6. Little Widder (Trad.)
7. Pretty When She's Sleeping                    (Powers)
8. Two Shot Glasses (Miller)
9. Lodis (Powers)
10. Empty Blues (Powers)
11. Prison Bars (Trad.)
12. Farm & Home Jingle (Powers)

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Showtime
2007

"The world needs more music from this fine group."  
     Tim O'Brien

Sweet Sunny South's new album provides the same easy access as their live show.  This is the band's fourth recording, and all but two of the songs are original.  There's a Cajun waltz, some up-tempo bluegrass and swing grooves, with lots of good old-fashioned fiddling from Cory Obert.  Mandolin picker Bill Powers, shares the excitement of performing in his song "Showtime," and lets us read between the lines of his "Pretty When She's Sleeping."  Guitarist Rob Miller converses, sorta, with his partner in "Pardon Me Darlin," and he offers you the honky-tonk bar stool next to his in "Two Shot Glasses."  Just when you're ready, bassist Shelley Gray sings a pretty ballad, and then the set ends with a sung advertisement (one of several the band has done for Paonia businesses over the years) for Farm and Home Supply.  Aaron Youngberg, who produced the CD, plays steel guitar on that track, and banjo on another, but the rest of the music is played and sung in real time by the band members, just like they'd do it on stage.

Have you ever tasted a peach from Colorado's western slope, ripe off the tree in late August?  There's nothing like it in the world, and there's nothing like acoustic music from Colorado.  Some inspired combination of altitude and attitude produces a special strain in the Rockies.  What Sweet Sunny south grows is nothing fancy - just good, natural music like you want to hear.  Like they say in "Farm and Home," you can't get everything you want here, but you can get everything you need.

Tim O'Brien

1. Breakin' Up Christmas (Trad.)
2. Two Dolla Pistols (Powers)
3. Ramble Johnny (Powers)
4. Son of a Gun (Powers)
5. Homestead Market (Powers)
6. Me & My Old Still (Powers)
7. Going to the Dance (Trad.)
8. Laura Ingall's (Powers)
9. Baby of Mine (Powers)
10. Shornin' Bread (Trad.)
11. Chuck's Blues (Miller)
12. Can we Get Along With This?

      (K. Beacco)
13. Jawbone (Trad.)
14. My Mississippi (Powers)
15. Get Them Pretty Girls (Trad.)
16. Four Eyed Boy (Powers)
17. Gray Cat (Macon)
18. Swannanoa Waltz (Gellert)

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Live from the Radio Room
2006

“My hat’s off to this young ensemble working on their own distinctive and enjoyable sound.”     Bluegrass Now

With their feet firmly planted in their Western Colorado community and public radio station, Sweet Sunny South's 3rd and most recent CD combines these two values to bring you Live from the Radio Room.  Recorded live at KAFM public radio station's Radio Room and originally aired live on the radio, this CD presents a glimpse of what attending a Sweet Sunny South concert is like complete with humorous segways between songs and audience reaction. 

Of the 18 tracks included on Live from the Radio Room, you'll hear 9 unreleased songs and 9 songs you may already know and love.  As typical with Sweet Sunny South, over half of the songs are originals, nine written by Bill Powers and one by Rob Miller.  You'll also find good old fiddle tunes and a couple covers of other contemporary artists such as Rayna Gellert from Uncle Earl and The Hunger Mountain Boys.

The 3rd CD released in 3 years, Live from the Radio Room was mastered by KAFM & Colin Bricker of NFA studios and the artwork was created by Andrea Lecos with photos by JT Thomas.

Sweet Sunny South continues to present music lovers with their own brand of bluegrass, old-time and original music that defies standard classification but is widely enjoyed non the less. 

1. Four Eyed Boy (Powers)
2. Burlington Northern (Powers)
3. Breakin' Up Christmas (Trad.)
4. Eliza Lowry (B. Galloway)
5. Chuck's Blues (Miller)
6. Going to the Dance (Trad.)
7. Laura Ingall's Theme Song (Powers)
8. Rocky Road to Dunton  (Trad.)
9. Gonna Leave this Town  (Miller)
10. Cochetopa Ropadopa (Powers)
11. Twila (Powers)
12. Wild Bill Jones (Trad.)
13. Talkin' About Walkin' (Powers)
14. Great Big Taters in Sandy Land
       (Trad.)
15. Paonia State Bank Jingle (Powers)
16. Four Eyed Boy REMIX 
      (Bricker/Powers)

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Wild 'N Swingin'
2005

"For Old-time music with a modern attitude, Sweet Sunny South delivers with style and gusto......"   Bluegrass Unlimited

The second CD release by Sweet Sunny South titled Wild n Swingin' finds this Paonia, Colorado based bluegrass/old-time band once again showcasing some fine original material.  Not content to rest on the laurels of their successful debut CD Bell Creek Dance Club, the band wanted to stretch out a little bit both stylistically & instrumentally this time around, and as a result, they've managed to keep things interestingfor themselves as well as exciting for the listener. 

Songwriters Bill Powers and Rob Miller have penned a collection of songs that span a wide range of subject matter and emotion, such as the tender love song Twila or the tortured yearning of the singer in Miller's Gonna Leave this Town, with Shelley Gray's fine harmony singing seeming to echo the protagonist of the story.  There's the story of a young man's rejection and finally, redemption in Powers' Four Eyed Boy, and the saga of trying to scratch out a living from the land in Chuck's Blues.  As is often the case with this band, we're treated to a liberal dose of humor, as in the swingy tribute to Shelley in Laura Ingall's Wild n Swingin', or the surreal tale, told instrumentally, of a car chase between James Brown & Muhammad Ali in Cochetopa Ropadopa, which features some blazing 5 string banjo playing by special guest, Aaron Youngberg of the HIT & RUN Bluegrass Band, as well as a couple other surprise guests.

In addition to the original songs, there's a nice selection of obscure and interesting fiddle tunes that Cory Obert brought to the band, reflection the bands interest in less well-known instrumentals. 

One nice surprise that came out of these sessions at Colin Bricker's NFA Studio in Denver is the addition of some tasteful accordion playing by producer Mark Nanni on four of these songs including the Cajun fiddle tune Going to the Dance.

Overall, this CD is another example of the adventurous and imaginative spirit that Sweet Sunny South brings to their music, and proves that this band has a great future ahead of them. 

1.Shortnin' Bread (Trad.)
2. Bell Creek Memories   (Vox/Dox)
3. Bell Creek Dance Club  (Powers)
4. Only One (Vox/Dox)
5. Uncle Ned  (S. Foster)
6. Me & My Old Still (Powers)
7. Drinkin' & Figtin' (Vox/Dox)
8. Drinkin' Song (Trad/Powers)
9. Cold Mountain (Miller)
10. Gray Cat on a Tennessee Farm                   (Macon)
11. Choctaw Fiddle (Powers)
12. Music & Dancing (Vox/Dox)
13. Zig Zag Rag (Powers)
14. Little Ones (Vox/Dox)
15. Anika Rose (Powers)
16. La Bataille (Doucet)
17. Girls & Boys (Vox/Dox)
18. Don't Go (Powers)
19. Homestead Market (Powers)

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Bell Creek Dance Club
2004

“...a nostalgic venture back to a simpler time that bubbles
    with originality and imagination.”    Bluegrass Unlimited

Sweet Sunny South's debut release Bell Creek Dance Club is an outstanding blend of original and old-time tunes celebrating the mountain sound while taking the listener on a scenic journey into dusty old American music.  The group has taken some cues from current bands like The Reeltime Travelers and Old Crow Medicine Show but their timeless original songs establish a sound that is all their own.  Standout tracks include the title track Bell Creek Dance Club which tells the true story of the now dilapidated dance spot.  The raucous and catchy Drinking Song which hints at the groups strong bluegrass ties, and the subtle yet hard hitting, Me and My Old Still describing a lost souls relationship with his moonshine still.  Cold Mountain, a haunting original tune written by Miller, could easily have fit on that soundtrack.  Tying the themes together comes the swingy Don't Go and the sweet tribute to Powers' Godchild, Anika Rose.  Cory Oberts' fiddling is featured in a few rocking numbers such as the lead-off track Shortnin' Bread, and the playful Gray Cat on a Tennessee Farm.  The CD is loosely based on the happenings at the Bell Creek Dance Club, a local dance spot that was popular in the 30's and 40's and on up into the 50's and 60's.  Friend, producer, and audio artist Adam Burke (NPR, Radio High Country News), conducted field recordings of old timers who used to frequent the spot.  The interviews offer candid and heartfelt memories about a place and time long gone and nearly forgotten.  These comments are places appropriately throughout the CD creating an overall theme.  As a whole it can be taken as a historical document while individually, the songs stand on their own.  The group creates multiple textures and feels throughout the CD.  Banjo and mandolin player, Bill Powers wrote seven of the songs and guitarist, Rob Miller contributes Cold Mountain to the CD.  Cory Obert plays fiddle and Shelley Gray plays upright bass.  All four members sing and the different combination of voices help create varied textures.  Powers points to influences such as Robert Hunter, Robert Earl Keen, Gillian Welch and Peter Rowan in his writing.  "I like to create stories that can draw the listener in," he says.  The group strongly identifies with their Western Colorado hometown of Paonia.  "For a songwriter like me, I don't need to look much further than here.  The history and material is overflowing."  Coal mining, fruit growing and agriculture are the things Paonia was built on.  The stories are everywhere.  We embrace the history and we embrace the change that is inevitable for Paonia," says Powers.  "This CD expresses our love for our home."  The CD was produced by Adam Burke and recorded and mixed by Colin Bricker at Denver's Notably Fine Audio.  It was mastered by the two time Grammy winner, David Glasser at Airshow Mastering, Boulder, Colorado.