Highly-acclaimed bluegrass artist and songstress Donna Ulisse released her thirteenth studio album, Livin’ Large, today, February 25th. Produced by the incomparable Doyle Lawson and released on the boutique bluegrass label Billy Blue Records, the full-length album features eleven tracks, eight of which were co-written by Ulisse. CMT has dubbed Ulisse, “one of the most commanding voices in bluegrass music.”
Doyle Lawson shared, “Wrapping up my third recording for Donna, it occurred to me just how much she tells stories in such a way where one can close their eyes and watch them unfold. There are song rhymers and there are storytellers using rhyme and rhythm. Donna belongs in the ‘storyteller with rhyme and rhythm’ group. It is a pure pleasure working with Donna and the Poor Mountain Boys!”
Donna added, “Three’s a charm for me and one of my all-time musical heroes, Doyle Lawson! I am grinning from ear to ear thinking about having Mr. Lawson at the helm caring for my songs as if they were his own. Living’ Large is the result of our team effort, and we had a blast making it.”
With her past albums and singles achieving tremendous success on Bluegrass Unlimited, Folk DJ, Americana, and Billboard Bluegrass Album charts, Ulisse’s highly-anticipated follow-up to her Billy Blue debut album, Time for Love, is already building on her streak of hits. The lead single, “Livin’ Large In A Little Town,” charted on Bluegrass Unlimited and is accompanied by a music video that can be viewed here. The full album Livin’ Large is out everywhere now, click here to listen.
Track Listing:
1. Gray Rock, Red Clay Land (3:09)
2. Hard To Find The Good Here Anymore (3:32)
3. The End of Crazy (3:20)
4. Turn My Heart (3:40)
5. Maggie Valley Home (3:10)
6. Always Tomorrow (2:49)
7. Daffodil (3:17)
8. Livin’ Large In A Little Town (3:06)
9. Harp With Golden Strings (2:54)
10. Don’t Bury This Bible With Me (3:38)
11. Appalachia Gotta Have You Feeling In My Bones (2:49)
About Donna Ulisse
Country music fans remember Donna Ulisse from her days when she was signed to Atlantic Records in the early 1990’s where she released a critically acclaimed album Trouble at The Door or as a guest on Hee Haw, Nashville Now, and NBC's Hot Country Nights.
These days Donna Ulisse is a key figure in the bluegrass music scene as a singer and songwriter. Her single “It Could Have Been The Mandolin” topped the Bluegrass Unlimited chart at #1 for two months in a row. She was also named the 2016 International Bluegrass Music Association’s Songwriter of the Year and went on to win the IBMA award for writing the Song of the Year
"I Am A Drifter" in 2017. In 2019, she signed with Billy Blue Records which is home to some of bluegrass music’s brightest stars. Her thirteenth career album Livin' Large is her third album produced by bluegrass legend Doyle Lawson.
Recent TV appearances include a featured guest spot on RFD-TV’s Simply Bluegrass show hosted by Ricky Skaggs which featured the biggest names in the genre. She also did a month-long stint as host of Bluegrass Ridge, a video television show on Heartland TV Network which has several of her videos in regular rotation. Her past albums have charted prominently in the Bluegrass Unlimited, the Folk DJ National chart, Americana Music charts, and the Billboard Bluegrass Albums chart. Her 2012 Christmas album All The Way To Bethlehemwas called “a masterpiece” by Kyle Cantrell, host of Bluegrass Junction on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. Edward Morris, writer for CMT.com dubs her “one of the most commanding voices in bluegrass music.”
As a songwriter, her songs have appeared on albums by prominent bluegrass artists Claire Lynch, Darin and Brooke Aldridge, the Grascals, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Larry Stephenson Band, and Volume Five to name a few, as well as on the 2014 Grammy® winning album Streets of Baltimore by the Del McCoury Band. She authored the book The Songwriter in Me: Snapshots of My Creative Process and is the founder of Lil House Songwriting Workshops offering aspiring songwriters the opportunity to write with her and other professional writers in order to improve their skills. Donna also keeps a busy touring schedule playing festivals and concert venues with her band, the Poor Mountain Boys.