Bluegrass leader extols virtuous life, local food
The Union Democrat

by GARY LINEHAN

Moral enlightenment is not only painless with Adrienne Young, it’s downright entertaining.

The seventh-generation Florida native, now a resident of Nashville, will lead her band, Little Sadie, in a performance Friday at the Strawberry Spring Music Festival.

Young takes center stage on banjo and vocals, backed by traditional bluegrass instrumentation including guitar, fiddle, mandolin and bass.

Their new recording, "The Art of Virtue" â€" much like their first, "Plow to the End of the Row" â€" begins on a foundation of solid bluegrass picking, then quickly soars to a higher plain with original lyrics inspired by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Mahatma Gandhi and other philosophical pioneers.

The title track is based on Franklin’s "The Thirteen Virtues" â€" a copy of which is included in the album packaging â€" while the plaintive track "It’s All the Same" was inspired by entries in his autobiography.

Among the notions finding praise in the opening song are chastity, silence, moderation and humility.

Other songs address peace, marriage, old age and the ethics of immigration, mixed in with traditional favorites like "Bonaparte’s Retreat," "Farther Along" and "Billy in the Low Ground," a buoyant reading of the Grateful Dead’s "Brokedown Palace" and even the true-life murder ballad "Rastus Russell." "Questions come every minute that give you the opportunity for growth or stagnation," Young said from Nashville, reached by telephone after returning from a recording session in Woodstock, N.Y., and before leaving for a show in Boston."When you ask how you can serve, the answer is not always going to be as fun as it seems." But she’s all smiles about performing at Strawberry.

"It’s a legendary place and a really big deal for us," Young said. "I’m so grateful to Charlie Cran and all the people at Strawberry for making us a part of this. You know you’ve at least touched the map when you get invited there." Besides performing, Young is a vocal supporter of buying locally grown food.

"Eating is a spiritual, moral, agricultural and political act," she said. "When you buy local food, you vote with your food dollar to ensure that family farms will continue to thrive." That concept even extends to backyard gardens, where "pretty little farm girls grow lavender to bundle up and sell to the citizens of the community to kept them vibrant and youthful," she said.

Farmers markets are much more than gathering places, Young said.

"The root of independence and self-reliance is to be able to grow vegetables for dinner in your own back yard," she said. "It empowers the individual and provides a connection with nature." Young said consuming local honeys and herbs can even produce immunities against allergies. "The web is so fragile and delicate and beautiful â€" even in silence when you’re contemplating it," she said.