Roll the Tapes All Night Long is a six-song EP of cover songs that Mile Twelve released on 25 June 2020 on Delores the Taurus Records (DTT 0046). The band is Evan Murphy on guitar and lead vocals, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes on fiddle, David Benedict on mandolin, BB Bowness on banjo and Nate Sabat on bass, joined on three songs by guests. Billy Strings plays guitar and sings on “Cold Wind.” Chris Eldridge sings and plays guitar on Darrell Scott’s “Hopkinsville,” with Brittany Haas on fiddle. Bruce Molsky plays fiddle and sings lead on “The Old Black Hen,” written by Jason Molina.
The songs come mostly from contemporary writers. “Whiskey Trail” is credited to David Hidalgo and Louis Perez, “Complicated Man” to Cy Winstanley and a second writer printed as Canessa McGowen, and “Cold Wind” to Roy McMillan with additional lyrics by Murphy and Sabat. “Rocky Island” is the one number from the Stanley repertoire, credited to Ralph Stanley with additional lyrics by Murphy; Murphy sings lead and Sabat harmony.
The recording was done in three batches: “Whiskey Trail” and “Rocky Island” on 13 September 2019 at the Rec Room in Nashville, the three songs with Strings and Eldridge on 26–28 January 2020 at the Butcher Shoppe in Nashville, and “The Old Black Hen” on 13 February 2020 at Conveyor in Brooklyn. On 1 October 2020, three months after the EP’s release, the IBMA named Mile Twelve its New Artist of the Year.
Tracklist
- 1 Whiskey Trail 2:41
- 2 Cold Wind 2:35
- 3 Hopkinsville 3:51
- 4 Complicated Man 3:59
- 5 Rocky Island alt version 3:44
- 6 The Old Black Hen 4:35
