The Earls of Leicester Deliver ‘I Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow’ Live at the Hall of Fame [Exclusive Video]
The Earls of Leicester are preparing to release their very first live album at the end of September, and they're giving The Boot's readers a sneak peek at the project, titled The Earls of Leicester Live at the CMA Theater in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Press play above to watch the Earls' performance of "I Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow" for the new record.
The Earls of Leicester -- Barry Bales, Shawn Camp, Charlie Cushman, Jerry Douglas, Johnny Warren, and Jeff White -- recorded Live at the CMA Theater in the Country Music Hall of Fame during two nights' worth of shows at the CMA Theater in Nashville. The band's mission is to promote the legacy of bluegrass pioneers Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, and the songs on this live album include 14 songs new to the Earls' catalog as well as nine fan favorites from their two previous studio albums -- 23 songs in total.
“This is the result of years and years of trying out different instruments, different string gauges, different techniques to try to create these sounds,” explains Douglas. The Earls are so dedicated to creating that classic sound that they've turned to decades-old instruments to achieve it: “Everybody in the band plays something old,” Douglas adds. “This music just sounds so much more true to form when it’s played on old instruments.”
Douglas founded the Earls of Leicester in 2013, part of a lifelong process of studying and learning the music of Flatt and Scruggs. The band released a self-titled record on New Year's Day 2014 and their sophomore album, Rattle & Roar, in July of 2016. They're three-time consecutive winners of the IBMA Awards' Entertainer of the Year honor.
“One of the biggest payoffs for me is playing this music for younger people, and watching them fall in love with it. And even better than that is having the older folks come up to me and tell me, ‘I never thought I’d get to hear that music again,'" Douglas reflects. "That’s when I know when we’ve really done our job.”
The Earls of Leicester Live at the CMA Theater in the Country Music Hall of Fame is due out on Sept. 28, with a double-LP vinyl version coming on Oct. 12. Fans can visit EarlsOfLeicester.net to learn more.