Shelby Means - Shelby Means (2025)

Shelby Means is one of the great female double bass players in bluegrass music along with the likes of Missy Raines, Vickie Vaughn and Katie Blomarz. She has been a member of Della Mae and held down the bass slot with Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway. She is also an accomplished singer-songwriter, and between the two gigs, she played in groups with partner Joel Timmons.

“Shelby Means” is her first solo album. Of its genesis, she says, “I always knew I wanted my first solo album to be bluegrass.” A quick glance over the credits certainly confirms that with a core band comprising Bryan Sutton (guitar), Sam Bush (mandolin) and Ron Block (banjo), while fiddle duties are shared fairly evenly between fellow Golden Highwaywoman Bronwen Keith-Hynes and Michael Cleveland. Means more than holds her own in this august company, and there is no doubt whatsoever whose record this is. Other supporting cast members include Jerry Douglas, Jacob Means, Billy Contreras, Kyle Tuttle, Molly Tuttle, Sam Grisman, Ronnie McCoury, Billy Strings, Kelsey Waldon, Tim O’Brien and Rachel Baiman. Producer Maya de Vitry also contributes harmony vocals.

It’s often the case when reviewing an album; it takes a few listens to get into it. “Shelby Means” came out of the iPod headphones like an old friend; one of those albums the listener feels like they’ve known forever, even on first listen. That said, it does go on to reveal more each time it’s played. Means wrote or co-wrote, principally with Timmons, the majority of the tracks. The record also includes a couple of covers – one of George Jones’ and one of Lady Gaga’s.

The record launches itself with the up-tempo ‘Streets of Boulder’ on which Means leaves the other half of her relationship while looking to move on. As with the rest of the album, the playing is exemplary. Second track, ‘Up On The Mountain,’ is slower-paced, with the titular mountain at the centre of the song’s narrative. O’Brien’s credit for ‘harmony’ probably understates his contribution to the song, while Cleveland’s fiddle snakes throughout the tune.

Lady Gaga’s ‘Million Reasons,’ also featured in “ A Star Is Born”, changes the mood slightly; the treatment from Means and her musicians locks it into roots territory. Means’ vocal is pretty emotional supported by de Vitry and Timmons. ‘Suitcase Blues’ is Means’ thoughts on the duality of touring – knowing it’s part of the performer’s deal but sorely missing home – “eleven years of paying dues”. ‘Wild Tiger Style’ brings in Douglas on Dobro and Contreras to the fiddler’s chair. The band roar through the tune, entirely in keeping with the title. You can imagine this expanding out in a live show. The next song ‘Fisherman’s Daughter’ tips more into folk territory with Douglas’ dobro and Jacob Means mandolin providing a web of instrumentation into which Sutton and Keith-Hynes weave their melodies.

‘High Plains, Wyoming’ takes Means back to the state where she grew up. Co-written with de Vitry, Timmons and fellow Kentuckian Waldon, it carries a sense of peace at one with the natural world described in the first two verses before the chorus takes a darker turn while the third verse talks to sorrow “I am trapped in a trace/I am chained to an old melody”. The playing brings out the wistfulness of the melody. Next up is ‘Five String Wake Up Call’ rolling in on Sutton’s guitar. The wake-up call is the narrator’s father waking up the family in the early hours with a particularly loud banjo. But what seemed annoying at the time is remembered with affection.

George Jones’ ‘The Old Old House’ continues the sense of familiarity but with memories that are more sorrowful than affectionate. Bush and Block pick sweetly. ‘Farm Girl’, which was one of the singles released from the album, sees the return of Waldon and Baiman on harmonies. The song’s narrator spends the day watching the farm girl of the title going about her day while all the time hoping to to catch her eye as he idles. This is another song that you can imagine cranking up a notch or two live on stage.

Track 11, ‘Calamity Jane’ is a fun song riffing on the subject of Calamity Jane’s great-great-granddaughter driving the singer’s bus. The penultimate song ‘Elephant At The Zoo’ is a slower tune which picks up a jaunty jazzy theme in the chorus. It brings a sense of warmth as Means almost breathes the vocal. The album closer ‘Joy’ sees Means return to the arco bass technique at the beginning. The tune has a soft melody, and this is echoed in Douglas’, Keith-Hynes, Jacob Means and Sutton‘s playing.

‘Joy’ is the perfect track to end an album that is, from beginning to end, a joy to listen to.