12 new songs from the pen of Tim Stafford and Thomm Jutz, whose album "Lost Voices" (2023) was critically-acclaimed, with star reviews in ABC News, Associated Press, No Depression and more. Reflections on art, history, spirituality and solitude are the thematic cornerstones of this collection. The title song tells the story of commercial sign and mural painters who worked throughout the United States in the 1930s and 40s, many for the WPA Federal Art Project. Onlookers called them “Wall Dogs,” since these painters often worked high up on ladders, or simple scaffolds, secured only by ropes. Today these art pieces have turned into “ghost signs” and can still be seen on the sides of buildings all over the rural United States. Others are on exhibit in the holy halls of American art such as the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum.

On six of the songs on "Wall Dogs" Stafford and Jutz are supported by Bluegrass greats Mark Fain (bass), Tammy Rogers (fiddle), Ron Block (banjo), and Thomas Cassell (mandolin), as well as guest vocalist Dale Ann Bradley. The remaining six songs are presented in seemingly simple, stripped-down, two guitars and vocals arrangements that showcase the nuance and emotion Stafford and Jutz play with while making the essence of each song the focus of each performance.

Stafford and Jutz’s respective resumes as songwriters are widely known, not just within the world of bluegrass music. On "Wall Dogs" they continue to showcase the breadth and depth of American acoustic music in general.

Endless Line, FGM Records 114, 2004. Grammy winner and veteran bluegrass musician Tim Stafford announces the release of his first solo recording, Endless Line. Tim's intelligent, captivating and thought-provoking songwriting is featured here as he wrote or co-wrote nine. "Tim Stafford was one of my favorite guitar players before he was anyone else's favorite, The album is amazing." -- Flatpicking Legend Tony Rice, April 2003. SONGS:

COLD HARBOR RIDER ON AN ENDLESS LINE THE KID METHODIST PREACHER BAD REPUTATION MAMMA LLAMA DANVILLE GIRL OBSESSION RAIN INDIGO BLUE HOLIDAY ON MISSION STREET IF ONLY FOR A DAY IF I HAD THE MONEY I WOULD RIDE THAT TRAIN THE REASON

Just to Hear the Whistle Blow, Hedge Drive Records, HDR01, 2014. Second solo recording from Grammy winner Tim Stafford, featuring Stuart Duncan, Adam Steffey, Barry Bales, Ron Stewart, Steve Gulley, John Gardner, Marty Raybon, Beth Snapp on 13 original songs and a version of "Red Wing." SONGS:

WHISKEY ISLAND JUST TO HEAR THE WHISTLE BLOW JANET'S SONG WORRY'S LIKE A ROCKIN' CHAIR FATHER NELSON ON THE LEDGE POODLE ON THE DASHBOARD DIMES RED WING HIDEAWAY HOTEL IT AIN'T THE MOUNTAIN MORGAN'S WAY ISAAC MORTON'S REVENGE BACK IN THE DAY

Tunes & Ballads, Hedge Drive Records, HDR03, 2020. TUNES & BALLADS features 16 of Tim’s compositions, 10 instrumental and 7 vocals, along with a cover of Bobby’s Hebb’s 1960s anthem “Sunny.” Like the title says, the record is a mix of solo, duet and trio instrumentals—much like those featured on Tim’s critically-acclaimed 2017 release Acoustic Guitar—and story songs, four of which were co-written with Tim’s friends and collaborators Craig Market, Joe Newberry, Jon Weisberger, and the late, great Steve Gulley. There are stories about great ships like the Titanic and Arizona, historical figures as disparate as Buffalo Bill Cody and Jack the Ripper, and tales of the loss of ways of life and old guitars. There are both flatpicked and fingerpicked originals—Tim was named the SPBGMA guitar player of the year in 2001 and 2015. Songs:

BEECH CREEK WILD WEST GALAPAGOS RED HAIRED BOY THE LAST CLINCHFIELD RUN SUNNY THE MARKS COEBURN BANNER SAIL AWAY TO SEE THE WORLD TAKE THE FERRY LONDON TOWN PALE BLUE DOT SHENANDOAH VALLEY BLUES HAPPY DAY ARIZONA TEARS WENVELL'S LAST DAY PRETTY LITTLE JOB

Guitar Melodies, Hedge Drive Records, HDR04, 2023. Fifteen new instrumentals--eleven originals, two covers ("Both Sides Now" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps") and two P.D. tunes ("Cluck Old Hen" and "Banish Misfortune"), with solos and duets with Jacob Burleson and Dave Eggar, plus band cuts featuring Ron Stewart, Jacob Burleson and Kameron Keller.

My new solo instrumental record "Guitar Melodies" was released on June 15, 2023! Fifteen new instrumentals--eleven originals, two covers ("Both Sides Now" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps") and two P.D. tunes ("Cluck Old Hen" and "Banish Misfortune"), with solos and duets with Jacob Burleson and Dave Eggar, plus band cuts featuring Ron Stewart, Jacob Burleson and Kameron Keller.

February 3, 2023 - Nashville, TN - When long-time pals, mutual admirers, and heavily respected bluegrass musicians Tim Stafford and Thomm Jutz really started amassing a catalog of co-written songs during Covid lockdown and beyond, it only made sense to get these inspired, well-crafted stories recorded for the rest of the world to hear and enjoy. Decamping to Jutz’s log cabin studio outside of Nashville with a crew of like-minded greats including Shaun Richardson on mandolin, Ron Block on banjo, Tammy Rogers on fiddle, and Mark Fain on bass, Stafford and Jutz cut fourteen of their songs to create an album of tunes that the beloved, late music writer and historian Peter Cooper called “Songs that bring American history—mountain culture, steam trains, vaudeville, race, baseball, strife, and grace—to technicolor life.” The album is called Lost Voices, and it's out now on Mountain Fever Records.

From “Callie Lou,” a song based on a scene from Harriette Arnow’s The Doll Maker that features Dale Ann Bradey on vocals; to the story of Negro League heroes, The Elizabethton Blue Grays, brought to life by the dedicated research of Jacey Augustus and the Cedar Grove Foundation; to the amazing story of the now-recognized Navajo heroes of the battle of Iwo Jima in “Code Talkers”; to “The Queen and Crescent” which is full of the alluring jargon from the golden era of America’s railroads; Lost Voices is all in tribute to what the longtime Blue Highway guitarist (Stafford) and the long-respected Nashville songwriter and session man (Jutz) call “the lost voices that still had so much to say.”

After calling both Stafford and Jutz “master guitarists and writers,” the aforementioned Cooper described Lost Voices, just like this: “These are new kinds of bluegrass songs, informed by mutual heroes Tony Rice, Norman Blake, John Hartford, and Gordon Lightfoot, yet not beholden to any prior influence, other than the influence of the American experience.”

Lost Voices In The News:

The Elizabethton Star, the home paper of that famous ball team who last took the field in 1955, wrote about Stafford and Jutz’s “The Blue Grays.”

Wide Open Country and Saving Country Music both included Lost Voices in their lists of most anticipated releases of 2023.

Americana UK shared “Take That Shot,” writing a simple, hefty compliment: “Lively? Sprightly? Bluegrass Perfection? Yes to all of those.”

Alan Cackett wrote a lovely review of Lost Voices, saying, “Echoes of the tenuous trappings of America’s past come flooding to the fore in these expertly penned songs, but they find a contemporary connection as well.”

No Depression reviewed the album writing, "Lost Voices showcases the sheer beauty of the work of two songwriters who capture in a song the heart and soul of people struggling with daily life but who also evoke elegantly the spirit of a time past that pulls on us, teaching us about our present condition."

Lost Voices Tracklist:

Take That Shot

Enough To Keep You Going For A While

The Blue Grays

The Ballad Of Kinnie Wagner

Callie Lou

The Wild Atlantic Way

No Witness In The Laurel But The Leaves

Vaudeville Blues

Code Talker

The Standing People

The Queen And Crescent

High Mountain Rising

Revolutionary Love

Lost Voices

More About Tim & Thomm: Mountain Fever Records is very proud to announce the signing of Tim Stafford and Thomm Jutz; two of the most prominent and prolific songwriters in bluegrass music, for the release of their forthcoming duo project, Lost Voices.

Their love for history, vintage guitars, and well-crafted songs brought the two together five years ago. “I’m such an admirer of Tim’s writing, singing, and playing. Making a duo record with Tim was a logical step and a dream come true for me,” notes Jutz. Stafford says, “Thomm is such a great, unique writer, player, and singer - we connected and found so many ideas that spoke to us both. Recording was a breeze!”

The second and final duet record by Tim and the late, great Steve Gulley, who passed away just a few months after this record, his last recording, was completed. Though they’re each veteran songwriters and artists—both in bands and on their own—Steve Gulley and Tim Stafford have enjoyed special acclaim as one of the most creative and successful songwriting teams in bluegrass music, with scores of recorded co-writes to their credit. They co-wrote the 2008 IBMA song of the year, "Through the Window of a Train," as well as a 2020 nominated song, "Both Ends of the Train," both recorded by Blue Highway. Their previous record, "Dogwood Winter," (2010) was a critically-acclaimed success. A single from this record, "Still Here," was #1 on the Bluegrass Today Top 30 Airplay chart on September 11, 2020. Much-anticipated, this collection of Tim and Steve's songs features veterans Ron Stewart, Barry Bales, Dale Ann Bradley and newcomer Thomas Cassell. It is a fitting legacy to Steve. Songs: STILL HERE LIVING SHOULDN'T BE THIS HARD SO FAR THERE AIN'T NO GOOD WAY TO GO SHE THREW HERSELF AWAY MY LAST EXCUSE TO DRINK SHE COMES BACK TO ME WHEN WE SING LONG WAY AROUND THE MOUNTAIN HE'S TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING IT'S ALL ABOUT THE GAME BACK WHEN IT WAS EASY

GRAMMY, DOVE, IBMA and SPBGMA AWARD-winning guitarist, singer and songwriter TIM STAFFORD is proud to release his fourth solo record, TUNES & BALLADS on December 14, 2020. Stafford, a former member of Alison Krauss’s Union Station and a founding member of perennial Bluegrass powerhouse Blue Highway, was named IBMA’s Songwriter of the year in 2014 and 2017 and co-wrote IBMA’s 2008 Song of the Year, “Through the Window of a Train.”

TUNES & BALLADS features 16 of Tim’s compositions, 10 instrumental and 7 vocals, along with a cover of Bobby’s Hebb’s 1960s anthem “Sunny.” Like the title says, the record is a mix of solo, duet and trio instrumentals—much like those featured on Tim’s critically-acclaimed 2017 release Acoustic Guitar—and story songs, four of which were co-written with Tim’s friends and collaborators Craig Market, Joe Newberry, Jon Weisberger, and the late, great Steve Gulley. There are stories about great ships like the Titanic and Arizona, historical figures as disparate as Buffalo Bill Cody and Jack the Ripper, and tales of the loss of ways of life and old guitars. There are both flatpicked and fingerpicked originals—Tim was named the SPBGMA guitar player of the year in 2001 and 2015. Songs:

BEECH CREEK WILD WEST GALAPAGOS RED HAIRED BOY THE LAST CLINCHFIELD RUN SUNNY THE MARKS COEBURN BANNER SAIL AWAY TO SEE THE WORLD TAKE THE FERRY LONDON TOWN PALE BLUE DOT SHENANDOAH VALLEY BLUES HAPPY DAY ARIZONA TEARS WENVELL'S LAST DAY PRETTY LITTLE JOB

Second solo recording from Grammy winner Tim Stafford, featuring Stuart Duncan, Adam Steffey, Barry Bales, Ron Stewart, Steve Gulley, John Gardner, Marty Raybon, Beth Snapp on 13 original songs and a version of "Red Wing." SONGS:

WHISKEY ISLAND JUST TO HEAR THE WHISTLE BLOW JANET'S SONG WORRY'S LIKE A ROCKIN' CHAIR FATHER NELSON ON THE LEDGE POODLE ON THE DASHBOARD DIMES RED WING HIDEAWAY HOTEL IT AIN'T THE MOUNTAIN MORGAN'S WAY ISAAC MORTON'S REVENGE BACK IN THE DAY

Grammy winner and veteran bluegrass musician Tim Stafford announces the release of his first solo recording, Endless Line. Tim's intelligent, captivating and thought-provoking songwriting is featured here as he wrote or co-wrote nine. "Tim Stafford was one of my favorite guitar players before he was anyone else's favorite, The album is amazing." -- Flatpicking Legend Tony Rice, April 2003. SONGS:

COLD HARBOR RIDER ON AN ENDLESS LINE THE KID METHODIST PREACHER BAD REPUTATION MAMMA LLAMA DANVILLE GIRL OBSESSION RAIN INDIGO BLUE HOLIDAY ON MISSION STREET IF ONLY FOR A DAY IF I HAD THE MONEY I WOULD RIDE THAT TRAIN THE REASON

Critically-acclaimed 2010 recording of 14 songs co-written by the award-winning songwriting team of Tim and Steve Gulley. SONGS:

WHY ASK WHY JUST ALONG FOR THE RIDE DOGWOOD WINTER NEBRASKA SKY JUST ANOTHER SETTING SUN HOW DID THAT TURN INTO MY PROBLEM? ON A DAY LIKE THIS YOU HURT ME ALL OVER AGAIN SNOW TORCHES DEEP END MAN SIXTEEN CENTS DYING WON'T BE HARD AT ALL ANGEL ON ITS WAY

In this 2-hour DVD from bluegrass guitar veteran Tim Stafford you will learn the fundamental skills that will make you a better guitar player no matter what your current ability level. Tuning, Timing, Tone, Technique, and Taste are all essential skills that guitar players from beginners to professionals need to address on a regular basis. Tim's masterful presentation of these concepts and the practical, time tested methods he teaches you on this video will not only help you understand, improve and maintain these skills, but will advance your overall guitar skills considerably.

Tuning: Tim teaches you how to get your guitar in tune (and train yourself to do it by ear instead of relying on electronic devices). Timing: Tim teaches how to improve your timing by using a metronome, a drum machine, and playing along with records, and he discusses advanced timing issues such as syncopation and playing 'on top of the beat'. Tone: Tim teaches you how to improve your tone by adjusting your pick choice, your pick angle and attack and your right hand position. Technique: Tim teaches you left hand techniques ranging from simple hammers and slides to crosspicking and floating. Taste: Finally, Tim teaches you how to develop tasteful solos and song accompaniment. This is a 'must have' learning tool for all acoustic guitar players.

A showcase for 14 songs written in the Bluegrass, Country and Americana styles  by Tim Stafford and Bobby Starnes, featuring guest vocals from Trey Hensley, Tim Shelton, Beth Snapp and Keith Williams. 

Tim is the 2014 and 2017 IBMA Songwriter of the Year.  He and Bobby Starnes have known each other since they were kids growing up in Bloomingdale, outside Kinsgport, TN and have been writing songs together for over 30 years.  Their songs have been cut by Larry Sparks, Blue Highway, Claire Lynch, The Grascals, The Boxcars, Kenny and Amanda Smith, Brooke and Darin Aldridge, Grasstowne, Cumberland Gap Connection, David Grindstaff, Shannon Slaughter, Jeanette Williams, Jeff Parker, and many more.  "Wilkes County Clay," which appears on this record, was #1 on the Bluegrass Today National Top 20 Weekly Airplay chart twice in 2016 as recorded and performed by Blue Highway. SONGS:

SHOTGUN SAM HALLELUJAHLAND (FEATURING KEITH WILLIAMS) STEADY BETTY SOMEWHERE DOWN THE ROAD KEEP IT MERLE (FEATURING TREY HENSLEY) MY ROPIN' DAYS ARE DONE (FEATURING TIM SHELTON) A GAMBLER'S WHAT I AM DOC JACKSON LAST DAY IN PARADISE LIGHTHOUSE LOVER'S MASQUERADE (FEATURING BETH SNAPP) GONNA BUILD ME A BOAT WILKES COUNTY CLAY ALL IN WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND