The Forge Mountain Diggers: Press

"an abundance of dynamic performances."

"The Forge Mountain Diggers have created a breathtaking collection of old-time music that deserves to be an integral part of any serious music library."

"The Forge Mountain Diggers... left the venue scorched, delivering a raucous, slash-n-burn series of sets not likely to be soon forgotten."

"The Diggers' punk influences are even more evident live than on their studio recordings. Allison Williams attacks her banjo clawhammer-style with an intensity rivaling that of any seasoned and steel-toed CBGB's regular, while David Bass' flawless fiddle work simultaneously drove the rhythm forward while providing a fierce melodic background. Thomas Bailey (playing a gorgeous small-bodied Gibson) unearthed a percussive element to the guitar, and even his solos were of the Lars Frederiksen variety: four or five notes, jackhammer tempo."

"The Forge Mountain Diggers began life as a pick-up band at the Mt. Airy Fiddlers Convention a few years back. No fools, fiddler David Bass, banjo player Allison Williams, and guitarist Thomas Bailey realized that they had something special and made it official not long after.
Their self-titled debut CD brought all of the energy and drive of a honking festival session right into my living room. And, just like a session, the CD gets faster and tighter as it goes along. David, Allison, and Thomas have chosen some of the best-loved tunes and songs in the repertoire, and they do them right."

"What struck me upon repeated listening is that these folks hold nothing back when they are playing and singing. The first time I heard the CD I wondered if they employed a snare drum on some of the tunes. Nope, it was just Thomas Bailey pounding the guitar for all it was worth. The same goes for the fiddling of David Bass and Allison Williams on the banjo - they play flat-out."

"Thomas Bailey and Allison Williams share lead vocal duties. Allison's voice falls comfortably on the folk side, which brings a freshness to songs like "My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountain," "I've Always Been a Rambler," and the charming "Likes Likker Better Than Me." Thomas Bailey is simply one of my favorite singers. His "Run Mountain" and "Hold the Woodpile Down" set the bar high for anyone singing those numbers hereafter.
It is great to hear that incredible bow arm of David Bass out and about again. Favorite tunes of mine here include "Lost Gal," "Callahan," and the staggering "Chilly Winds." David and Allison play really well together, with just the right amount of push and pull between the fiddle and the banjo."

"This is a disc to play all year long, but might prove particularly useful in those sunshine deprived days of February when it seems that festival season will never, ever get here. Put it on, turn it up, and in the words of the Solemn Old Judge George D. Hay, "Let 'er go boys." Highly recommended."

"Packing tunes with banjo, fiddle and soaring harmonies, the Diggers have been bringing their energetic brand of bluegrass to audiences for two years. The band recently released their self-titled debut CD, though, and are hitting the road once again to promote it."

"The Diggers are known for fiery performances that owe nearly as much to punk rock as to bluegrass. The band's approach to old-time music has been likened to "a starving hobo (tearing) into a ham sandwich."
The group's music is famously danceable as well.
"Old-time music is dance music," says Allison Williams, the group's banjo player. "Some folk musicians forget that and we try to remind them."

"The members all share a common background in punk rock. Currently though, aside from the raw energy of punk, the bands' feet are firmly planted in Appalachian soil.
The Forge Mountain Diggers combine traditional music with a DIY (that's do-it-yourself for those with acronymic challenges) punk ethic to carve out a unique niche in the music world."

from The Daily Times (Maryville, TN)
There was a time when Tom Bailey tried to get as far away as he could from the music of his childhood.
Growing up in Southern Virginia, he started playing Old Time and Appalachian music at an early age. As a teen, however, peer pressure got the better of him, and he turned away from it to pursue the primal fury of punk rock. Eventually, however, he made his way back home — both geographically and musically, and as he fast approaches 40, he’s made peace with the two genres and rooted himself in a sound that combines the passion of both in a band called the Forge Mountain Diggers.
“I guess, in a way, getting back to playing that music had a lot to do with identifying myself and where I was from,” Bailey told The Daily Times this week. “I started off playing it, but due to peer pressure, I wanted to disassociate myself from being perceived as a hick or a hillbilly, so I tried to adopt a more urban identity. But as I got older, I found myself wanting to be a little more mature about who I was, and by the time I was in my late 20s, I had gotten back into playing acoustic music again.
“I just find that, as far as artistic expression and everything, it has a broader story to tell. With all of my background — playing punk and hard rock, going to school for jazz studies — I was really able to represent where I was coming from on an artistic level as far as getting into it and staying deep into it.”
Given the bandmates he has in the Forge Mountain Diggers and the music they play — Old Time country with Lester Flatt-style guitar-picking (“I’m prone to taking guitar solos, and my punk background has a lot to do with that,” Bailey said with a chuckle) and high-energy fiddle breakdowns — it’s not hard for Bailey to immerse himself in what he loves. Originally formed as a contest band at the Mt. Airy Fiddlers’ Convention in June 2004, the band includes Bailey (formerly of the Hogwaller Ramblers), fiddler David Bass (formerly of the Freight Hoppers) and banjo picker/singer Allison Williams (formerly of the Milkcrate Rustlers).
The trio combined the do-it-yourself work ethic of the punk scene with the music made famous by such bands as the Hilltoppers, the Skillet Lickers and Earl Johnson’s Clodhoppers, and within a year, they were competing at such gatherings as the Stecoah Valley Festival, the Appalachian Stringband Festival and the Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention.
“One of the things that probably separates us from the average Old Time stringband is that I double the melody on the guitar on a couple of numbers, and I play a guitar style more like Lester Flatt and less like Maybelle Carter,” Bailey said. “It’s still centered around fiddle, banjo, guitar and some mandolin, but there’s as much passion there as in any of the punk bands I played in. You can look at our fiddle player, David, and the way he approaches playing his instrument, and see that pretty clearly. There’s just a certain thing about his fiddle music, just how hard he hits it and how he puts so much soul and passion into it, that it’s easy to see how it appeals to those in the punk rock scene.”
Tonight, the Forge Mountain Diggers kick off the fall concert series at The Laurel Theatre in Knoxville’s Fort Sanders neighborhood. It’ll be a high-energy show full of songs from the Diggers’ most recent album, released in June.
“It’s a pretty accurate picture of where we’re at right now as far as our growth and our repertoire,” Bailey said. “We’ve got that much more material twice over as far as waiting in the wings to go into the can. We hope to get into the studio in the winter, and our performance at the Laurel will feature a bunch of those tunes.”