The Sacred Shakers - Live (2014)

The Sacred Shakers deliver hard-hitting country-gospel alongside soulful harmonies and primitive blues power. The all-star band's infectious rootsy, rockabilly groove is exciting to witness and accessible to believers and doubters alike. Their sermons are sung in bar rooms, rock clubs, and festivals across the country over a bed of heavy rhythms and shaded by the tones of ace instrumentalists. Their angelic harmonies tell dark tales of sin and redemption of the poor soul. Five singers, highlighted by the queen of the minor key, Eilen Jewell, swap lead duties, while the tight rhythm section of slapping upright bassist Johnny Sciascia and drummer Jason Beek provide the backbone of this eight-piece Americana outfit. The perfect twang of Jerry Miller's Gretsch guitar, the haunting violin of Daniel Kellar and Eric Royer's old-timey banjo provide a heavenly and sometimes wild atmosphere to songs by the likes of the Carter Family, Hank Williams, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and the Swan Silvertones.

This is not your ordinary gospel band. This collective of Christians, agnostics, and Jews can sing of the true vine with an exciting Bo Diddley beat and just as easily slow it down to evoke the simple beauty of a plain little country church with the benches all worn. The beauty of The Sacred Shakers (live and on CD) is the easy mix and match of lead vocalists, with Fram taking lead backed up by Jewell's rich harmonies on some numbers, Beek and Jewell joining voices on another, and the pure ring of Glassman or Royer out in front on others all with some combination of the others voices not far behind.

Sacred Shakers Live features 14 songs, recorded live at Boston’s Lizard Lounge on January 24, 2013. On it, the Shakers offer new life to the gospel genre by revisiting the stripped down country and bluesy gospel material that inspires them.