Load the Wagon, released in 2020 on Mountain Fever (MFR 200214), is Junior Sisk's most traditional record in years — a deliberate return to a 1940s-and-50s sound after revamping his band. Sisk sings lead and plays guitar, with Tony Mabe on banjo, guitar, and vocals, Heather Berry Mabe on vocals and guitar, Doug Bartlett on fiddle and vocals, Jonathan Dillon on mandolin, and Gary Creed on vocals and bass. Amanda Cook co-produced with Sisk at Mountain Fever Studios in Willis, Virginia. The title track, written by J.R. Satterwhite, is built on old-time clawhammer-style banjo and dance-ready fiddle. The album marked Sisk's deliberate step away from contemporary bluegrass production toward something closer to the Stanley Brothers and early Flatt and Scruggs.
Tracklist
- 1 Get In Line Buddy 3:20
- 2 Best Female Actress 2:40
- 3 Hooked On Bluegrass 2:49
- 4 Poor Sister Cry 3:09
- 5 Lily Dale 2:49
- 6 I'm Going There 2:53
- 7 Just Load the Wagon Source Recording 3:54
- 8 I'm Lonesome And Blue 2:53
- 9 Lover's Farewell 3:08
- 10 He Died a Rounder at 21 Source Recording 2:34
- 11 Mend This Heart Of Mine 2:51