Art DeVitalis, Peak to Peak. For Dango Rose, his latest release is a return to simpler times. He remembers formative time of bittersweet emotions and a unique instrument that was the inspiration for an album. 

“I fell into this heart space with this banjo,” Rose said. “Banjo Poems reminds me of a sweet time of life. It was a simpler time, too.” 

His new single Night Resumes debuted December 18, 2020. The song paints a picture of noir, ending with beauty. “Night Resumes was originally conceived on a Civil War fretless banjo in an old miner’s cabin just below the continental divide,” Rose explained. “The song is about the season leading into the solstice.” 

He came across the banjo in Grubville, Missouri, during a blizzard on Christmas Eve in 2003. “There’s these metal castings on it that say Union Forever. It’s a Union Civil War Banjo,” Rose said. “Just coming across that thing, it was meant to be.” He says the instrument spoke to him, and in turn, the music flowed freely for the album. He described the sound as “old” and “haunting” but was able to easily sing along. 

“Because it’s so old, it naturally tunes itself to 432 Hertz, and stays one tuning between B and C [notes],” he said. “So, the whole thing was written in the key of B and C at 432 Hertz. It was actually the most natural writing experience I’ve ever had.” 

Night Resumes is from the upcoming album Banjo Poems, set to be released January 8th. He originally printed 300 CDs for family and friends in 2011, but the album was never officially released. The six-track album will be available online on Spotify and features those songs recorded in the Winter of 2008 and 2009. 

For seventeen years, Dango traveled nationally and internationally in touring bands. In 2006, he co-founded Elephant Revival and spent eleven years performing and recording with this influential outfit that pioneered the genre Transcendental Folk. Rose grew as a musician by playing with traditional old-time folk bands. Appalachian roots have always been a part of his music. Personally, he’s fascinated with 19th century, the history and the time period in which Americana emerged.   

Caribou Mountain is a homage to the ghost town of Caribou and to the town of Nederland. It also holds special meaning, as the cabin in Caribou was the first place Rose lived in Colorado. Jason Dilge from early 2000s Nederland band High on the Hog is featured on the track. 

“Going Home is a straight-up, old-time fiddle tune,” he smiled. East County Road is a solid old-school folk tune that builds into something beautiful and meditative. Rose said he’s at his most vulnerable with the track Pollinated.

The album also holds the original version of Asleep with the Light On, a song that Elephant Revival performed at times. “It’s going to be the release of the songs from the last 10 years. I would record when I wasn’t on the road with Elephant Revival, but I would never release,” Rose explained. “This is the first of four EPs I’m going to release in 2021, of music from that time.” 

Rose has shared the stage with the likes of Gregory Alan Isakov, The Lumineers, Nathaniel Rateliff, Mandolin Orange, Blind Pilot, Hiss Golden Messenger, Iron and Wine, The Oh Hellos, Billy Strings, Greensky Bluegrass, Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Joan Baez, Ani DiFranco, Sam Bush, Little Feat, Donovan, Amy Helm, Aiofe O’Donovan, Chadwick Stokes, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Leftover Salmon, John Oates, Elvis Costello, Yonder Mountain String Band and many more. He’s played at high-profile national festivals, such as Newport Folk Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and more.

For more on Rose, give @dangorosemusic a like on Facebook, Instagram, and visit www.dangorose.com.

(Originally published in the December 24, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)