Missy Raines & the New Hip
From her tenure playing with The Claire Lynch Band, Eddie Adcock, Josh Graves, Jim Hurst, Kenny Baker, and Jesse McReynolds to her 8 International Bluegrass Music Association Bass Player of the Yearawards, Missy Raines has proven herself without doubt as an iconic bluegrass instrumentalist. But with her newest release, Royal Traveller, Raines has stepped into the spotlight as a songwriter for the first time. The album digs deep into Raines' family life and her upbringing in West Virginia. Featuring previous and current members of her live band, as well as cameos from other bluegrass greats such as Stuart Duncan and Tim O'Brien, the album is a gorgeous look into the perspective, history, and musical influences of one of Nashville’s most beloved musicians, Missy Raines.
Royal Traveller is Raines' third album for Compass Records, and the first produced by Compass' owner and founder, and renowned banjo player Alison Brown. "I went into this project with Alison with the mindset that I wanted to stretch myself and see what I could do. I think we achieved what I was looking for, which is something further reaching and bigger than what I would have accomplished on my own," says Raines.
In 1998, Raines became the first woman to win IBMA's Bass Player of the Year award and she went on to win the title repeatedly for the next several years. Royal Travellerhighlights this particular piece of Raines' history with the stand out track “Swept Away”, which features the 5 first women to win IBMA instrumentalist awards, Raines, Brown, Sierra Hull, Becky Buller, and Molly Tuttle. “Swept Away” was named 2018 IBMA Recorded Event of the Year.
Royal Traveller has now gone on to receive a GRAMMY nomination,as well as the IBMA’s award for Instrumental Recording of the Yearin 2019.
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"Raines is not only a superb bassist but also an excellent singer, with a matter-of-fact, low-key delivery, that's sometimes hushed, sometimes seductive, sometimes channeling a simmering unease." - New York Music Daily
Missy Raines Receives 2016 IBMA Award Nomination
"Missy Raines and the New Hip bring dynamic musicianship and a rich musical vocabulary to New Frontier giving the album a sense of both tradition and fresh modernism. " - No Depression
"With a dark, melodic, honey-rich voice Raines was too country to describe as bluesy, and way too bluesy to be pop. Her sound was seductive and enthralling -- kind of like Amy Winehouse meets Rosanne Cash. Her band lent the perfect foil of mandolin and steel guitar. " - Charleston Gazette
"For the person looking for music that moves the emotion and breaks barriers between musical genres, Missy Raines and the New Hip push the envelope." BreOnna Tindall KUNC -FM Denver