Valley Flower: “Valley Flower”

“Black Sabbath” by Black Sabbath. “Bo Diddley” by Bo Diddley. “Motörhead” by Motörhead. Is there a way to introduce a new band’s brand better than by making your debut song title and project name one in the same?

Well, especially within the proving grounds of bluegrass – where instrumental choices are often near-identical and distinguishing act from act is usually a matter of vocal character – we think it’s a great strategy. And that brings us to Valley Flower. Given our place in the lush Hill Country, you might’ve already guessed that Valley Flower is based here in Austin. But that doesn’t subtract from some member’s out-of-Texas exposure and upbringings in states like Minnesota, North Carolina, and Virginia – worth mentioning since it’s clearly infused Valley Flower with some unique regional influences that help this quintet stand out in the fields of Central Texas bluegrass.

But it’s not like Valley Flower vilifies bluegrass as bland. Instead Valley Flower cross pollinates those iconic Appalachian sounds with the freshest petals of country, folk, and jam. And while gearing for a pair of shows in late August (The White Horse on the 21st and Sagebrush on the 24th), last week Valley Flower plucked out and presented its eponymous debut to the world, which quickly landed in the bouquet of Spotify’s New Grass playlist. And you can hear why.

In its earliest moments, “Valley Flower” blooms with a twangy ritardando before launching into an ode for life outside the city limits. And though it may seem like the energy wilts after a hair over two minutes…that’s just the halfway mark. What follows is a classic upbeat string sound, no doubt. But in context of the full composition, it’s plenty enough passion, variety, and instrumental expertise to convince us to keep Valley Flower in our viewfinder leading up to their upcoming inaugural EP.

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