Mother Merey and the Black Dirt - Debut Album 'Down to the River'

Mother Merey Kimbrough (washboard/vocals), Eric Witthans (dobro/vocals) and Kevin Allen (harp/vocals)


There is something raw, primal and pure about Austin band, Mother Merey and The Black Dirt, with Eric strangling the Dobro and Kevin playing harp like it’s implanted in his throat, they reach right into your gut as Merey’s sizzling vocals take the Delta Blues and squeeze fresh drops of sweat and blood from them. Pay attention, Mother Merey and The Black Dirt are the real deal.

The album opens with the playful ‘Chicken Scrabble’, a song they performed at Couch By Couchwest in a chicken pen.  On the title track ‘Down To The River’ Merey beckons like a pied piper begging us to go down to the river, as the dobro and harp move our feet jollily in compliance. ‘Front Porch’ and ‘Old Rope’ highlight the minimalist approach and great vocal harmonies the three achieve on many of the songs, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Allen says it’s a tribute old-time roots. “All the old folk and blues songs only needed one riff,” he explains. “If you find another riff, you write another song.”
‘In The Fortune’, ‘Family Home’ and ‘Mother Merey's Hymnal’ feature Eric’s beautifully subtle picking and Kevin’s bluesy harping interplaying with Merey’s sweet lamentatious vocals.
On ‘Trouble In Mind’ you can feel the ghosts of bluesmen past hauntingly wandering the fields seeking out, who is this young lady with the bodacious voice capturing our souls and breathing new life, following that ‘Whistlin' up the Road’ with it’s beautiful gospel harmonies, the band is telling us ‘this is the way to go, follow us’ And I will, Mother Merey and the Black Dirt are taking wild ancient roots and planting them firmly in fresh rich black dirt and from it sprouts delicious fruit.

Mother Merey and the Black Dirt - Down to the River
self-released
Available for purchase on iTunes, Spotify, and Bandcamp May 22nd, 2013.
Produced by Justin Douglas
Engineered, Mixed, and Mastered by Justin Douglas at Shine Studios in Austin, Texas



1. Chicken Scrabble
2. Down to the River
3. Front Porch
4. Old Rope
5. In the Fortune
6. Family Home
7. Mother Merey's Hymnal
8. Trouble in Mind
9. Whistlin' up the Road
10. John Henry
11. Take It In

Release Party> "Down to the River" on May 29th, 2013 at Antone's with some very special guests. $5 in advance / $7 at the door.

 50 Limited Edition 180 gram VINYL TEST PRESSINGS of "Down to the River" available for purchase the night of the party, so be sure to get there early to get your copy. 

The night will also include a cranky show, on-site screen printing of our new t-shirts, a whiskey toast, and special guest performances. Live stream and download of the show will be available through www.dejaset.com!

Mother Merey and The Black Dirt – Chicken Scrabble at Couch By Couchwest 2013