North Carolina Songbook documents Steep Canyon Rangers in a project explicitly framed around their home state's musical history, recorded live at MerleFest in 2019. The band — anchored by Woody Platt, Graham Sharp, Mike Guggino, Nicky Sanders, Barrett Smith, and Mike Ashworth — works through North Carolina material spanning bluegrass, old-time, and the broader Appalachian songbook. The Rangers' approach has always favored ensemble polish over individual showmanship, and the live setting brings the band's vocal blend and instrumental cohesion into clear focus. The repertoire is curated rather than incidental, with each selection drawn from a Carolina source — Doc Watson, Etta Baker, Charlie Poole, and the broader Western North Carolina tradition the band has been formally associated with since taking on the Earl Scruggs Center residency. The album sits among their more deliberately curated projects, a band of working professionals stepping into the role of regional musical historians.
Tracklist
- 1 Stand By Me - Live 4:30
- 2 Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down alt version 2:13
- 3 Blue Monk - Live 4:35
- 4 Drunkard's Hiccups - Live 3:21
- 5 Shake Sugaree - Live 4:00
- 6 Sweet Baby James alt version 4:05
- 7 I’ve Endured alt version 6:05
- 8 Your Lone Journey alt version 4:08
