They’re the hosts of the TV show “Bluegrass Ridge,” and they’re coming to Snohomish this weekend.
Daniel and Carolyn Routh are the husband-and-wife duo who host the nationally syndicated television series for bluegrass fans. They also make up half of the bluegrass band, Nu-Blu, which will play Sept. 14 at Tim Noah Thumbnail Theater.
The Rouths front the band, now touring behind their 2017 album, “Vagabonds.” Nu-Blu has three national airplay hits: “Gypsies on Parade,” “640 Battlefield Drive” and “Still Small Voice.” Jimmy Fortune, of Country Music Hall of Fame’s The Statler Brothers band, helped write and is featured in “Still Small Voice.”
Carolyn Routh sings and plays bass; Daniel is the lead guitarist and also provides vocals. Austin Hefflefinger, on banjo, and Justin Harrison, on fiddle and mandolin, round out the band’s Americana roots sound, featuring country twang and Appalachian folk music.
In addition to their own songs, the band from Siler City, North Carolina, also performs country, rock and folk covers, such as Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”
“We take audiences from wide open, uplifting highs to heart wrenching, mournful lows,” Carolyn Routh said.
“Music can be a very personal thing. In many ways, it’s an emotion all its own. Our hope is that something we do may entice, inspire and delight our audiences.”
Daniel and Carolyn, married for about 12 years, started out playing in a Christian rock band. They formed Nu-Blu in 2003, with the hope of making it as full-time musicians, but shortly thereafter had to go on hiatus because Carolyn suffered two strokes that left her unable to speak and use her right side.
After several months of recovery, husband and wife got back to making music.
“It hasn’t been an easy road, but with each step backward, we have learned a lot about the business and what to do, and more importantly what not to do,” Carolyn Routh said.
Nu-Blu, which has six full-length studio albums, collaborated with five-time Grammy Award winner Rhonda Vincent on the single, “That’s What Makes the Bluegrass Blue,” which was the most played song on SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction in 2014.
That same year, Carolyn Routh teamed up with soul legend Sam Moore of Sam & Dave — known for R&B classics such as “Soul Man” and “I Thank You” — to sing “Jesus and Jones.”
“Getting to collaborate with artists like this is something we never dreamed we would do,” she said.
In 2018, the Rouths became the hosts of “Bluegrass Ridge,” a weekly series featuring artist interviews and music videos. When they’re not hosting the TV show — available on cable channels Heartland TV, The Family Channel and Keep It Country — the couple spends up to 200 days of the year on tour.
“It’s really a fantastic opportunity,” Carolyn Routh said of the show. “Not only for our band, but to showcase other bluegrass artists and put them directly into people’s homes and every week.”
Evan Thompson: 425-339-3427, ethompson@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @ByEvanThompson.
If you go
Nu-Blu will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 14 at Tim Noah Thumbnail Theater, 1211 Fourth St., Snohomish. Tickets are $20. Call 360-568-9412. More at www.thumbnailtheater.org.
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