Rugged Little Thing
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2015
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Listening to the opening notes of Rugged Little Thing’s self-titled debut, I was forced to evaluate my once-adamant opposition to the banjo. Its recent revival has swayed me—like many others, I hope—to appreciate its jaunty vibration and particular enunciation of notes.
But as the soon-to-be wed duo of Ryan Shotton and Jille Magnus launched into bluegrass classic “Black Eyed Suzie” I had to confront a bluegrass festival attendance years ago that was less than enthusiastic and realize how wrong—how terribly, terribly wrong—I’d been.
The pair state that they blend “together a perfect cocktail of Old Time, Bluegrass, and Folk Music that feels like home,” pulling from not just the classics but Canada’s own campfire and kitchen jam legacy. And that’s the familiarity they nail, luring you in through music you’ve known all your life but never shying away from being unabashedly rooted not just in comfort, but the truest version of those genres.
Magnus’ voice emerges as the siren’s call to this cocktail, devastated on “Take A Number,” and full and rich as she makes an entrance on “Black Eyed Suzie.” And while Shotton leans more towards a supporting role, he’s got the final say with “Rocky’s Road,” a more folksy number in line with the jig-worthy “Cherokee Shuffle” as the Saskatoon couple skirts eastward.
And while it might have been, admittedly, these songs that first helped Rugged Little Thing appeal to me, they would be nothing without the banjo and the bluegrass that pair with them and make them what they are. Fusing together the disparate roots of our country’s edges, and pairing them with the smooth touch of Magnus’ voice, Rugged Little Thing has indeed mixed a fine drink.
Top Tracks: “Take A Number”; “Cherokee Shuffle”
Rating: Proud Hoot (Really Good) - Eleni Armenakis, Gray Owl Point
Discography
Rugged Little Thing - Rugged Little Thing
1 Blackeyed Suzie (traditional)
2 How Can I Miss You (jille magnus)
3 Take a Number (jille magnus)
4 Jealous Hearted Me (Carter family)
5 Rocks and Shield (jille magnus)
6 Cherokee Shuffle (traditional)
7 Down in the Valley (traditional)
8 Rocky's Road (Ryan Shotton)
Jille Magnus - banjo, vocals
Ryan Shotton - guitar, vocals, mandolin
Wyndham Theissen - cello on track 3 and 8
Neil Kirby - upright bass on track 5 and 6
James Anderson - harmonica on track 7
Produced by Rugged Little Thing
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Ryan Shotton
Cover art by Steve Dunk
2018 - Fare Thee Well - Rugged Little Thing
1 Fare The Well/ Spotted Pony/ Julianne Johnson (Jille Shotton, traditional, traditional)
2 This Old Town (Jille Shotton)
3 It Takes One To Know One (Harlan Howard, Freddie Hart)
4 False Hearted Girl (The Delmore Brothers)
5 Grandma's Farm Jille Shotton)
6 I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome (Hank Williams and Bill Monroe)
7 Sweepin' (Ryan Shotton)
8 Two Years Less A Day (Jille Shotton and Ryan Shotton)
9 Cold Frosty Morning / Kitchen Girl (traditional/ traditional)
10 I Was Young When I Left Home (Bob Dylan
11 Frankie Forgot (Ryan Shotton)
12 Sugar Hill (Traditional)
Jille Magnus - banjo, vocals
Ryan Shotton - guitar, vocals, mandolin, washtub bass
Produced by Rugged Little Thing
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Ryan Shotton
Cover art by Steve Dunk
Photos
Bio
Saskatoon's
Rugged Little Thing blends together a perfect cocktail of Old Time,
Bluegrass, and Folk Music that feels like home. Born out of kitchen jams
and late nights by campfires in Canada's north, these two have fallen
into sweet harmonies and catchy rhythms that are sure to get your toes
tapping.
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