For forty years, the Kerrville Folk Festival has proved to be not only a showcase of emerging talent but also a great meeting place for musicians. In 2007, singer Grace Park and guitarist John McGee met cellist David Moss at the festival, and their initial bond was so strong that Moss decided to move down to Austin from New York. That summer, the Blue Hit was born, and the trio immediately set out to strengthen their musical kinship.
Park is a graduate from the Texas State School of Music, so having that kind of pedigree is an obvious plus. Yet the Blue Hit’s songs aren’t stuffy compositions. Rather, they veer between folk and jazz–fingerpicked guitar one moment will give way to improvised dynamics in the next. The group is even fond of its Texas elders as it showed recently when the band covered Townes Van Zandt’s “Rake” in KUT’s Studio 1A.
Throughout its short career, the Blue Hit has alternated between live releases and more studio-centric albums. This year’s self-titled offering (the band’s third record to date) returns to their roots by capturing the trio in a stripped-down setting. It’s the perfect way to hear the musicians’ interplay among one another, and the three instruments–acoustic guitar, cello, and voice–are strong complements. “Graduation”–today’s song of the day–appears on the Blue Hit’s self-titled album, but this version is taken from their recent Studio 1A session. Here, the band dials back the atmospherics for something earthier and complex–in short, that unique Blue Hit sound.
The Blue Hit: “Graduation” << Download [audio:https://kutx.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/sotd-121412-The-Blue-Hit-Graduation.mp3]
