Crowes Pasture - Slow It Down (2019)

Monique Byrne and Andy Rogovin perform original music and eye-opening covers that reflect a mutual passion, sense of discovery and celebration of life. Their tightly blended vocal harmonies are mixed with an expressive instrumental style that is best described as a banjo-guitar romance. Crowes Pasture’s style of escapist folk transports and connects listeners through universal experiences in their “skillfully crafted, emotional songwriting” (Chris Eastburn, award-winning composer).

In just four years time, Crowes Pasture has quickly been making waves with two EPs and three full-length albums. They have been featured on the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival Showcase Stage for four years running, performed at Club Passim, and were finalists in the 2019 and 2018 CT Folk Festival Competition. Their music has achieved airplay on over 70 stations nationwide and they’ve been featured on radio shows as far and wide as Tufts Freeform Radio in Boston to the national podcast, Sundilla Radio Hour.

Their close harmonies and memorable songwriting have attracted attention from music lovers, critics, and musicians alike. Two of the duo’s songs have hit the #3 spot on the National Folk DJ Charts - Edge of America (October 2017) and Paul Simon’s Hazy Shade of Winter (December 2018). The 2017 album, Edge of America, reached #7 on the National Folk DJ Charts and landed a spot on the Folk DJ Top Albums of 2017. Bill Copeland Music News praises the album, saying “there is an earnestness of purpose in these songs that remind of all the great ballads and folklore that define [the folk] genre.” The album features soulful fiddling by Patrick McGonigle of the IBMA award-winning group, The Lonely Heartstring Band. The tradition of collaborating with award-winning peers is a continuation from their debut album, the 2015 EP Best Believe. Recorded in Nashville, TN, with Grammy Award-winning audio engineer Gary Paczosa, the project features Molly Tuttle, winner of multiple IBMA awards, including being the first female to win Guitar Player of the Year, and John Mailander (of Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers) on fiddle.

More than beautiful recordings, Crowes Pasture has an intimacy about their live performances. The romantic clawhammer banjo playing by Monique and expressive guitar picking by Andy are enlivened by their personal chemistry and emotionally expressive vocals. Nick Noble, host of “The Folk Revival” on WICN-FM, has praised the duo for their “lovely harmonies and a passionate approach to musical performance.”

The duo takes its name from a salt marsh known as Crowes Pasture, hidden away on the north side of Cape Cod, where the ocean tides recede twice a day to reveal intricate patterns on the shifting sands. To Monique and Andy, this recurring cycle of creation and discovery evokes their own musical journey. With a full tour schedule and new full-length album due out in 2019, Crowes Pasture is emerging from the sea grass dunes at the “edge of America” to bring listeners across the country together.

Tracklist:

01. Slow It Down
02. I Need You
03. High Wire
04. The Dance
05. So Many Ways
06. Is This Love
07. Pictures of You
08. A Hazy Shade of Winter
09. Mercy Now