Once a member of the heralded old-time revivalist outfit Reeltime Travelers — featured on the soundtrack to the movie Cold Mountain — singer-songwriter and guitarist Martha Scanlan released her first solo album The West Was Burning after the group disbanded.
In 2003, Scanlan won awards in bluegrass and country categories at Merlefest's Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. After agreeing to produce her record, Appalachian/Cajun music guru Dirk Powell brought in Amy Helm and Glen Patscha of Ollabelle to help flesh out the disc.
Conjuring sounds of old-time mountain music, gospel and Appalachian blues, Scanlan's sound provides a modern update of traditional sounds. Playing the guitar and singing, Scanlan is joined here by Rose Sinclair (of the Heartbeats Rhythm Quartet and Robin & Linda Williams) on steel guitar, background vocals and banjo; Travis Stuart on bass and banjo; and Trevor Stuart on fiddle.
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