#next act

Song Review: Steep Canyon Rangers feat. Steve Martin - “Heart’s the Only Compass”

Steve Martin guests on it, but Steep Canyon Rangers’ “Heart’s the Only Compass” is not a funny song.

It is, however, a three-minute sonic film in which the narrator, in finding out who his dad is, also finds out who his mom was one long-ago night on a Greyhound bus to New Orleans.

History will show/we make it up as we go/and the heart’s the only compass you can trust/and the way from yours to mine/never was a straight line/it’s a tale of hope and fear and love and lust, goes the harmony-rich chorus.

Bassist Barrett Smith sings banjoist’s Graham Sharp’s words on the verses, leading to an unexpected twist and an ending no one could’ve seen or heard coming. Though the melody and uptempo arrangement are pedestrian - and Martin’s second banjo is unessential - the story renders the music secondary and “Compass” is thus a masterwork.

The track announces the May 22 arrival of the Rangers’ Next Act; the title track and “Circling the Drain” were released as standalone singles in 2025.

Grade card: Steep Canyon Rangers feat. Steve Martin - “Heart’s the Only Compass” - A-

Song Review: Steep Canyon Rangers - “Next Act”

Guitarist Aaron Burdett sheds his new-guy status, co-writing with banjoist Graham Sharp and singing lead on Steep Canyon Rangers’ “Next Act.”

The three-minute standalone is as purely rooted in bluegrass as the Rangers get. It’s a song of determination as Burdett sings the story of a woman moving on:

She said, ‘for my next act I’m not actin’ for anyone/hold to the love that’s held me true/for my next act I’m gonna have me a little fun/it’s been too long I’ve played the fool,’ goes the chorus leading into Nicky Sanders’ fiddle solo.

Although not associated with an album, the mid-tempo, slight-wobble of “Next Act” presents the Burdett-era band sounding confident and embracing its own next act.

Grade card: Steep Canyon Rangers - “Next Act” -B+

Song Review: Steep Canyon Rangers - “Roll of the Dice”

Aaron Burdett songs don’t yet sound like Steep Canyon Rangers songs.

The newest Ranger wrote and sings “Roll of the Dice,” single No. 5 from Next Act, the second band album with Burdett that arrives May 22.

A straight bluegrass number that finds drummer Mike Ashworth abandoning the kit in favor of Dobro, with lots of fiddle, mandolin and banjo adding to the brisk tempo, “Roll of the Dice” is a fine song But no one would ever peg it as an SCR number.

That will change with time as the Rangers and Burdett further integrate. But as of now, it sounds like a Burdett song.

Grade card: Steep Canyon Rangers - “Roll of the Dice” - C+

Read Sound Bites’ previous Next Act coverage here.

Song Review: Steep Canyon Rangers - “Rumble Strips”

Steep Canyon Rangers careen off the road and deep into the bluegrass on “Rumble Strips,” the opening track and single No. 4 from Next Act.

A song of regret and a promise of self-improvement, the number features the newest Ranger, guitarist Aaron Burdett, on lead vocals and includes a namecheck of Tim O’Brien to back up the band’s bluegrass bonafides.

Late night hittin’ those rumble strips/heading off into the woods again/I’m bad for missing signs, moving fast and crossing lines/but I got the message loud and clear, the band sings before Graham Sharp’s banjo, Mike Guggino’s mandolin, Nicky Sanders’ fiddle and Mike Ashworth’s Dobro roll in and out in quick succession to match the song’s highway-speed tempo.

Next Act is out May 22; read Sound Bites’ previous coverage here.

Grade card: Steep Canyon Rangers - “Rumble Strips” - B

Capital Repertory Theatre, Albany, NY

Next Act! New Play Summit 9

Capital Repertory Theatre (theREP) is now accepting submissions for the NextGen Reading Event, for playwrights aged 19-25, for the Ninth Annual NEXT ACT! NEW PLAY SUMMIT.

The submission process for the NextGen Reading will open on Monday March 9, 2020 and close on Friday April 9, 2020!

NEXT ACT!, now in its ninth year, is an…

Kein Stempel, kein Schwert, kein Buch, kein Mittagessen, keine Kuchenteilchen, keine Kekse, kein Kaffee, keine Achterbahn #NextChampions @WinfriedFelser

“Wer bringt New Worker, Agilitätspropheten, Minister und große alte Männer aus Wissenschaft, Politik und HR zusammen? Der Netzwerker und Zukunftsdenker Winfried Felser”, schreibt die Haufe Online Redaktion. Und es waren ja auch eine Menge junger Leute da aus sehr unterschiedlichen Sphären – aus Wissenschaft, Mittelstand, Medien und Verbänden.

https://twitter.com/gsohn/status/111294961498…

Cheerio, Miss Sophie äh Mister Felser – Ausblick auf #NextAct und #NextChampions @WinfriedFelser

Das Nicht-Event #NextAct zur Digitalen Transformation wird am 28. März unter dem Titel #NextChampions mit dem Anspruch „Vision, Inspiration & Transpiration Transformation“ im Phantasialand in Brühl. Mister #NextAct Winfried Felser erläutert um 18 Uhr im Facebook Livestream, warum man am 28. März und beim betreuten Craft-Beer-Trinken am 27. März dabei sein sollte. Cheerio, Miss Sophie äh Mister…

Capital Repertory, Albany, NY Announces Next Act! New Play Summit 7 Call for Entries Submissions are now being accepted for Capital Repertory Theatre’s Seventh Annual NEXT ACT! NEW PLAY SUMMIT! Next Act!, now in its seventh year, is an expansion of Capital Repertory Theatre’s (theREP) commitment to the development of new work. At the same time, the weekend long summit is designed to complement…