Watch Hippies & Cowboys’ Paste Session Recorded Live at Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion

Paste Studio “On The Road” set up shop at the 2024 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion in Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia, the annual music festival that’s been honky tonkin’ since 2001. The festival features Americana, Appalachian Roots and more, honoring the legacy of Ralph Peer’s 1927 Bristol Sessions that introduced the Carter Family to the world, and continues to inform and inspire musicians to this day. We chose the most fitting location for this intimate series, showcasing artists in the performance space inside the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, dedicated to telling the story of the Bristol Sessions.

Full Session

Hippies & Cowboys had a strong Bristol weekend, drawing a huge crowd for their festival set, and sharing music with us from their new EP, Fork In The Road. Their three-song session blended Southern rock and soul, kicking off with “Ain’t No Good.” Aaron Sparling’s lead vocals grabbed the studio audience’s attention from the first note and kept it. Sparling led the charge while the rhythm section—drummer Scott Metko and bassist Kevin Riley Corbo—kept it moving. A sincere tip of our cap to Victor Arruda’s lead guitar work, and Connor Lafollette on keys, a pair of smokin’ aces.

“Ain’t No Good”

The band then moved into “Midnite Rose,” which, in this stripped down studio arrangement, brought the keys more forward in the mix, creating a dialogue between Lafollette and Sparling. But the keys don’t overpower, and the tasty guitar shreddy shreds are just as present in this session like they are on the EP.

“Midnite Rose”

The set closed with the title track of the EP, “Fork In The Road.”

“Fork In The Road”

Big thanks to Charlene, Danielle and the whole team at Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, and to June and her team at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum for bringing these sessions to life. Stay tuned for more Bristol x Paste sessions on the way.