Rebecca Frazier is a triple threat.  She is a wonderfully engaging singer, a compelling songwriter and an accomplished guitarist to boot.  All of these talents come together to dazzling effect on When We Fall.  I’m proud of Rebecca for what she’s achieved on this album, for her tenacity in pursuing her dream and for recording one of the best bluegrass albums I’ve heard this year.
– Alison Brown

“Rebecca Frazier’s ‘When We Fall’ is the best bluegrass album of 2013…Frazier easily stands in the ranks of Alison Krauss and Rhonda Vincent, and her compelling lyrics transport us through the pain of loss, love’s disappointments, and the hope of healing….Every song on this beautiful album reveals a facet of Frazier’s musical brilliance.” BLUEGRASS SITUATION, LOOKING BACK: Our Top Picks of 2013

“A genuine triple threat as singer, songwriter and flatpicking guitarist….When We Fall(Amtoco/Compass), a stout piece of work that demands — and should bring — plenty of attention. Co-produced with veteran Brent Truitt, the album features a nicely chosen set of pickers and several original songs that offer satisfying twists on bluegrass tradition, exemplified by the laid-back sway of the title track…..Don’t be surprised if When We Fall winds up on a bunch of “best of the year” lists.” — NASHVILLE SCENE / JON WEISBERGER READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

“If When We Fall is not the best bluegrass album of 2013, then it’s easily among the top five albums of the year. With her emotional, powerful vocals, Rebecca Frazier—known for her work in the award-winning bluegrass band, Hit & Run—stands in the ranks of Alison Krauss and Rhonda Vincent; her compelling lyrics transport us through the pain of loss, love’s disappointments, and the hope of healing….. she demonstrates why she is simply one of the best flattop guitar pickers working today. Every song on this beautiful album reveals a facet of Rebecca Frazier’s musical brilliance, and not one song on the album disappoints.” ENGINE145.COM READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

“When We Fall, born in tragedy, becomes a stirring, at times high-spirited, celebration of life, love and spiritual reconciliation….That When We Fall, despite its sober title, is infused with so much life, honors the Fraziers’ resilience, their new daughter and the spirit of their departed son.” DEEP ROOTS MAGAZINE 2013 Elite Half Hundred

“Rebecca Frazier’s When We Fall is the most welcome surprise to land on my desk yet this year, and the signal that there’s a major new bandleader, singer, songwriter, and guitarist in the top ranks of the world of bluegrass music.” (5 stars out of 5) LONESOME ROAD REVIEW READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

“This thunderbolt of simplicity reminds us how powerful music can be when you focus on, well, the music. Frazier confidently avoids frills and fuss, allowing us to bask in shining vocals, crisp, inventive instrumentation and intelligent songwriting. Nearly all of the 12 songs on When We Fall are originals, but Frazier’s…[songs] pack more than enough hook to knock down genre barriers.” ENGINE 145 BEST OF BLUEGRASS AND ITS OFFSHOOTS, 2013

“As much as it is a musical achievement, When We Fall persists in memory for its flesh and blood humanity. Rebecca Frazier will be heard from by dint of her artistry as a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist but the heart informing her music makes all the difference.” DEEP ROOTS MAGAZINE

“This woman’s voice is a nearly perfect bluegrass instrument–both powerful and delicate…I’d never heard her before and she is in a league of her own with a voice that falls somewhere between Alison Krauss and Rhonda Vincent without sounding at all like either.” MAVERICK MAGAZINE (U.K.)

March 2014

“For bluegrass artist Rebecca Frazier,
the guitar has always been a means of
transporting her, whether to a different
state of mind, to a campfire bluegrass
circle, or onto the stage of one of the
hundred-plus festivals at which she
has performed” FULL ARTICLE

“Rebecca Frazier’s particular version of bluegrass—chordally complex without being really jazzy, virtuosic without being headlong, soulfully tuneful without being soully—is very, very good. She writes great songs, she sings them beautifully, she plays lead guitar like Tony Rice (well, okay, not quite like Tony Rice, but she’s definitely a hot picker), and she leads her band skillfully. Notably, she has created an album that lovers of newgrass and acidgrass alike should be able to agree on—it really is brilliant.” CD HOTLIST FULL ARTICLE

“It’s easy to enjoy a project with so many fine characteristics. It is well produced,  the supporting musicians are fantastic and the mixing is nothing short of spectacular….Rebecca, in addition to being a superb vocalist and lyricist, is a masterful flat-pick guitar player, playing with a level of imagination, taste, and authority that will awe many of her listeners, as well as her peers.” PRESCRIPTION BLUEGRASS FULL ARTICLE

“As a picker, Frazier shows the influence of Tony Rice, particularly on the melodic instrumental Virginia Coastline, but she’s clearly learned the lessons from Rice that playing lead is not all about speed and playing backup is not just about keeping time. In short, Frazier is, like both Krauss and Rice, a superbly well-rounded talent. She most evokes the dynamic early years of Krauss’ career, making this disc a pleasant and rewarding experience.” COUNTRY STANDARD TIME FULL ARTICLE

“…It is the story of turning grief into beauty, of coming alive thanks to the power of music….The collection of bluegrass and Americana songs closes with a song called ‘Babe in Arms,’ which she sang at her son’s memorial service. Many of the other songs began as part of her healing process but evolved into something that sounds less mournful. All of the tracks, though, are rooted in deep emotion.”  LSA MAGAZINE

 “You must be somebody pretty special and extraordinarily talented to get the bassist and banjo player for Alison Krauss and Union Station and the mandolin player for Steve Martin to play on your first solo record. Rebecca Frazier is just that and more. Her playing is distinctive, and her voice is lilting and lyrical.” CHAPEL HILL MAGAZINE FULL ARTICLE

“The songs aren’t so much gloomy as they are hopeful, with a few instrumentals here and there to show off why Frazier is cover-worthy.” BILLINGS GAZETTE

“Rebecca Frazier’s voice is a nearly perfect bluegrass instrument – both powerful and delicate. She also happens to be a fine songwriter, as demonstrated by the nine original songs on When We Fall…She is a monster flatpicker, with a crisp clean attack and superb timing….” AUDIOPHILEREVIEW.COM

“Rebecca Frazier succeeded in her goal of making an enduring album. The production quality of When We Fall is modern, nonetheless the well-crafted acoustic instrumentation and vocals make this recording an everlasting collection of songs….When We Fall contains a mix of splendid ear friendly bluegrass and Americana songs and dazzling instrumentals.” WORLD MUSIC CENTRAL

“Rebecca’s songs offer a refreshing perspective, with lyrics that burst with creative imagery and emotion, and memorable melodies that don’t always go where you expect. If I was half the musician Rebecca is, I’d be a very happy woman. You’ll be a very happy fan if you buy this album. I guarantee it.” MINOR 7TH

“magical vocalist, stunning guitarist….gorgeous new CD” Horizon Records

“…She’s far from a newcomer….If you’ve never heard her sing or pick a guitar, it’s time to remedy that. Soft voiced but modern sounding and spot on guitar work makes this a cd you need to hear.” BILLSBLUEGRASS.COM

Hit & Run brought a potent show to our Masters Weekend event on Lake Superior in November. We’d seen them in their heavy touring days, so we knew that they’d put on a fantastic and unique bluegrass experience for our workshop and concert. We were looking for a hard working, hard hitting, talented bluegrass band: Hit & Run brought it.
–  Wayne Russ, Director, North Shore Music Association, Minnesota [ FULL REVIEW ]

When We Fall is one sweet record; I’m very impressed. Songs, arrangements, instrumental work…really strong stuff, and Rebecca’s lead playing is just amazing. She’s been putting in some serious time. The closing track in tribute to her angel gone home is especially poignant and touching.”
– Tim Timberlake, T-Square Studios/JAMInc, In Your Ear Radio, Virginia [ FULL REVIEW ]

My job is easy when I work with professionals like this group. Rebecca is the most organized instructor we have ever had up here for our workshop and concert. So many people have asked for a copy of Rebecca’s class hand-outs. I’d like to thank Hit & Run for being real.”
– Ron Mercer, Director, Northern Bluegrass Circle Music Society, Alberta, Canada [ FULL REVIEW ]

Hit & Run combines strong compositional skills, individual musicianship, and ensemble playing, and that indefinable vibrancy that distinguishes the great from the good.”
– Garian Vigil, Colorado Daily [ FULL REVIEW ]

Hit & Run’s appeal may be their youthful energy combined with polished vocals, hot picking, and their contemporary sound. Their music is “handspun yet motor-driven, a well-oiled machine of sound produced by men and women with flying fingers and high, lonesome voices.”
– Denver Westword

They came out of nowhere and they collided with the Colorado bluegrass scene head on…
– James Thompson, Rocky Mountain Bullhorn

“That girl sure has a pretty voice.”
– Dr. Ralph Stanley at the Boulder Theater, Boulder, CO, 2006

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“When We Fall is an incredibly strong record. These are great songs combining smart and
inventive guitar playing with deep, emotional bluegrass singing.”
Bryan Sutton (Guitar virtuoso)

It’s no secret that artists sometimes create their most authentic works in moments of despair. While intentions to repair their own broken hearts can supersede their desire to communicate with the public, the rawness of their experiences often creates a bridge to the hearts and minds of others. It is a circumstance such as this that brought guitarist, singer, and songwriter Rebecca Frazier to her newest work.

Frazier achieved notoriety in the bluegrass world as the first woman ever to appear on the cover of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, and is widely known for her work with award-winning Colorado-based band, Hit & Run. In November 2010, Frazier was faced with a void after the loss of her second son, Charlie. Uncertain of the future, and trying to move forward while continuing to raise her first son, a toddler at the time, she turned her attention to her writing. She’d hoped to revisit her muse once her second son was of school age, but life had different plans. And as life can do, it took another turn during Frazier’s unplanned return to the studio in 2012–the birth of her first daughter, Cora, took place during the recording of her forthcoming May 28 Compass Records release, When We Fall. 

“The temptation was to hide under a rock,” Frazier says of the loss of her son. “But even grieving is impossible with a toddler in the house. I dusted off old journals with half-written songs. I took my son walking in Shelby Park and sang melodies.”

On one of those walks in 2011, Rebecca happened upon one of Nashville’s most treasured and respected producers. “I was strolling my son in East Nashville when I recognized Brent Truitt (Dixie Chicks, Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton) on the sidewalk–we’d jammed at a bluegrass party years before. We started chatting, and he invited us to his son’s birthday.” Frazier and Truitt talked about working together in the future. “I called him a few weeks later and said, ‘Let’s do this.'”

When We Fall is something different for Frazier: a collection of self-penned bluegrass and Americana songs, presented in a classic way. “I’m inspired by music from the 1970’s,” she says. “early Bonnie Raitt; old-school Tony Rice and Dave Grisman Quintet; Neil Young: this music feels like home to me,” she says.  And but for the one Neil Young cover, Frazier has divulged a lot of herself with her ten original songs, while still showcasing the shredding guitar skills she’s known for. In songs like “Love Go Away From This House” and “Darken Your Doorway,” she offers painful perspectives from failed love, and, as she puts it, “all the bad that comes with the good.” Yet there are hopeful notes about long-term romance in “Walk This Road” and “Morning & Night.” There’s an old-time feel to “Better Than Staying,” in which each character’s restlessness to keep moving culminates in the calm peace of a dying mother. The song, “When We Fall,” Rebecca says, “asks a question about losing our innocence. Can we fall down and lose self-respect, but get back up and look ourselves in the eye?” The album ends with “Babe In Arms,” a lilting string-band lullaby for her son.

The album places Frazier right in line behind the bluegrass women that preceded her—the driving track “Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow” is reminiscent of early recordings of Alison Krauss, while instrumentals such as “Virginia Coastline” and “Clifftop” give a tip of the hat to guitar legends Tony Rice and the late jazz guitarist Emily Remler, about whom Frazier wrote her Honors Senior Thesis at the University of Michigan.

Accompanying Rebecca are a host of world-class acoustic artists: her husband and musical partner John Frazier on mandolin & vocals (Steve Martin, Jim Lauderdale, John Cowan), bassist Barry Bales (Alison Krauss), banjo genre-bender Scott Vestal (Sam Bush), Dobro genius Andy Hall (Infamous Stringdusters), fiddle virtuoso Shad Cobb (John Cowan), banjo innovator Ron Block (Alison Krauss), and, on backing vocals, her longtime Western compatriot, Shelby Means (Della Mae).

Originally from Virginia, Frazier is perhaps best known for her work with Hit & Run Bluegrass, which made history as the only band to win competitions at Rockygrass (2002), Telluride Bluegrass Festival (2003), and the SPBGMA Band Championship in Nashville (2005).   Driven by Rebecca and John’s leadership, Hit & Run became one of Colorado’s most electrifying acoustic touring acts. According to Denver’s Westword, “Something’s got to be up when one bluegrass band suddenly surpasses all the others.”

The group was launched as a successful touring act out of Colorado, gracing stages of prestigious festivals and venues in 36 states and Canada, and eventually migrating to Nashville in 2007 with two studio albums under their belts. Once there, the group’s mandolinist (and Rebecca’s husband), John Frazier, was offered a position with John Cowan Band. The timing was right. “I was daydreaming about starting a family,” says Rebecca. “I knew I couldn’t make the leap into motherhood while living on the interstate and at festivals.” Her first child was born. Hit & Run continued to tour, albeit not full-time. Rebecca continued her studio work (she’s a featured performer on Curb Records’ 2012 release, The Last Ride, the soundtrack for the 20th Century Fox movie, and she and John produced three records for CMH Records’ Pickin’ On series); she used her spare time to write.

The result is the engaging and transparent When We Fall. Grammy Award winning musician Alison Brown hails Frazier by saying, “Rebecca Frazier is a triple threat.  She is a wonderfully engaging singer, a compelling songwriter and an accomplished guitarist to boot.  All of these talents come together to dazzling effect on When We Fall.  I’m proud of Rebecca for what she’s achieved on this album, for her tenacity in pursuing her dream, and for recording one of the best bluegrass albums I’ve heard this year.”

While the album showcases Rebecca’s longstanding passion for guitar with several barn-burning originals, listeners will also hear the pure, pining—and at times exposed—soprano tones of a woman who has matured through seasons of heartbreak, loss, and love. It’s unusual for a touring musician to move to Nashville with the intention of having children soon after, but motherhood has seasoned and enhanced Frazier’s music.

In Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, Dan Miller writes, “Rebecca has worked incredibly hard…to get where she is today. And although she has achieved great success, she continues to be very passionate about her music and her guitar playing. I predict that many will point to Rebecca as a role model, inspiration, and guitar hero. Her journey is one that should serve to inspire any guitar player, singer or songwriter.”

• 2009 International Bluegrass Music Association “Recorded Event of the Year” Winner (Rebecca Frazier, Daughters of Bluegrass)
• 2006 First woman on cover of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine (Rebecca Frazier)
• 2005 International Bluegrass Music Association Showcase Artist
• First Place, 2005 SPBGMA International Band Championship (Nashville, TN)
• First Place, 2003 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Contest (Telluride, CO)
• First Place, 2002 Rockygrass Band Contest (Lyons, CO)

Rebecca Frazier gained notoriety as the first woman on the cover of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine. With over a decade of touring under her belt, Frazier has returned to the national stage with her flatpicking and songwriting showcase, “When We Fall,” and her new affiliation with Compass Records. In 2013, Rebecca Frazier and Hit & Run have continued to delight audiences across the country with the “handspun yet motor-driven” music that earned Hit & Run their reputation as “one of the tightest groups performing.” They are the only band to win the top triumvirate of major bluegrass band contests at the Telluride, Rockygrass, and SPBGMA Festival Band Championships. 

Hit & Run formed in late 2001 with the mutual desire to play “authentic yet modern” bluegrass. They quickly launched themselves as a successful touring act out of Colorado, gracing stages of prestigious festivals and venues in 36 states and Canada and eventually migrating to Nashville in 2007 with two studio albums under their belts. Since 2002, Hit & Run has shared stages with the likes of Jimmy Martin, Hot Rize, Rhonda Vincent, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Del McCoury, David Grisman, Ricky Skaggs, Creedence Clearwater Revisited, G. Love & Special Sauce, Galactic, Medeski Martin & Wood, and many other recognized acts bluegrass and popular music.

Journalist Craig Havighurst calls Rebecca Frazier “East Nashville real deal bluegrass.” She received the IBMA “Recorded Event of the Year” Award in 2009; she’s a featured performer on Curb Records’ 2012 release, The Last Ride, the soundtrack for the 20th Century Fox Hank Williams biopic. Rebecca’s work has been featured in national publications, including Bluegrass Today, Engine 145, Deep Roots Magazine, Bluegrass Now, Bluegrass Unlimited, to name a few. And John Frazier’s musicianship has garnered him recognition as one of the nation’s premier mandolinists and songwriters—he’s toured with Steven Martin, John Cowan, and Jim Lauderdale, and other national roots music celebrities.

But tragedy touched the Fraziers’ marriage in late 2010 with the loss of their baby son in late 2010. Moved to create music together during this difficult period, Rebecca and John collaborated to write and record songs for When We Fall, which was released May 28, 2013 by Compass Records. Recorded and co-produced by Brent Truitt (Dixie Chicks, Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton), When We Fall features several flatpicking guitar “manifestos” from Rebecca’s compositional repertoire, as well as original ballads, folky Americana, and bluegrass songs following a Neil Young cover and the traditional “Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow” from Hit & Run’s stage repertoire. Says Deep Roots Magazine, “Frazier is in superb voice throughout…As much as it is a musical achievement, When We Fall persists in memory for its flesh and blood humanity.”

Accompanying Rebecca and John are a host of world-class acoustic artists: bassist Barry Bales (Alison Krauss), banjo genre-bender Scott Vestal (Sam Bush), Dobro genius Andy Hall (Infamous Stringdusters), fiddle virtuoso Shad Cobb (John Cowan), banjo innovator Ron Block (Alison Krauss), and, on backing vocals, her longtime Western compatriot, Shelby Means (Della Mae).

The result is the engaging and transparent When We Fall. Grammy Award winning musician Alison Brown hails Frazier by saying, “Rebecca Frazier is a triple threat.  She is a wonderfully engaging singer, a compelling songwriter and an accomplished guitarist to boot.  All of these talents come together to dazzling effect on When We Fall.  I’m proud of Rebecca for what she’s achieved on this album, for her tenacity in pursuing her dream, and for recording one of the best bluegrass albums I’ve heard this year.”

Since 2001, Hit & Run has gained the respect of promoters, fans, musicians, and media across the country with their “indefinable vibrancy that distinguishes the great from the good” (Colorado Daily). Touring as Rebecca Frazier and Hit & Run in support of When We Fall, the band showcases Hit & Run’s arrangement prowess while bringing Rebecca’s compositional and writing skills to the forefront for the first time. Bryan Sutton confirms that When We Fall is “an incredibly strong record…great songs combining smart and inventive guitar playing with deep, emotional bluegrass singing.”