Some artists find their groove, develop an audience, and, once that’s done, never stray from the comfort zone they’ve created for themselves and their fans—and for them, that’s fine. But that’s not Tim Shelton’s way. And so, after sharing in the creation of NewFound Road and spending a dozen years guiding the quartet’s transformation from a purely Gospel group into one of Bluegrass music’s most distinctive and admired ensembles, the acclaimed singer is trading the safety of familiar ground and an established career to head for new musical territory. 

“I’ve actually been thinking about this for years,” Shelton says. “I’ve always loved and appreciated all kinds of music, and it was almost nagging at me that I wanted to do something else. But NewFound Road was busy in Bluegrass, and we’d finally gotten to the point where we were comfortable, so it seemed a little silly to change. But then [mandolinist] Joe Booher came in and said, ‘I think I’m ready for a break from traveling.’ Well, he’d been with me for seven years, so it caught me off guard. But I thought about it, and literally the next day, I decided, I’m done. I didn’t want to deal with reinventing NewFound Road, I’d been wanting to do other things musically, to go other places, and so I thought, now is the time.”

That might make the choice sound easy, but given NewFound Road’s stature, the move is unmistakably a bold one—though it’s not the first time Shelton’s undertaken his own project. For that, one has to go back to the beginning of the new century, when he drew on a decade’s worth of experience singing bluegrass gospel in his southwestern Ohio home base—and on friends like The Isaacs—to put together I Stand Amazed, an album that Bluegrass Unlimited called “a Bluegrass Gospel masterpiece.”

Almost immediately after that, though, Tim’s energies and talents were invested in NewFound Road, and from its first, self-titled album, the group’s reputation—and personal appearance calendar—grew steadily. Their third album, 2005’s Somewhere Between, marked the emergence of secular Bluegrass material in NFR’s set lists, and generated their first major bluegrass hit, “Raining The Blues,” as well as their first take on what would become a signature song, Tom T. Hall’s “That’s How I Got To Memphis.” 

Moving to roots music heavyweight label Rounder in 2006, the group released Life In A Song in 2006 and Same Old Place in 2009, each album marking a change in personnel and a further step in the process of creating a unique sound that looked beyond bluegrass even as it remained firmly rooted in the genre. By the time Live At The Down Home was released in 2011, Shelton was the sole founding member left in the group, presiding over a widely-acclaimed quartet that could knock out a hard-driving bluegrass original like “We Ain’t Goin’ Down Without A Fight” (co-written by the band’s Josh Miller) or a fresh take on a classic like the Stanley Brothers’ “Lonesome River,” but also deliver a compelling reading of Jackson Browne’s “These Days” or an eight minute, instrumental and vocal tour de force on the R&B staple, “Ain’t No Sunshine.” 

So while there’s no doubt that Tim Shelton has the breadth of vision and talent to take a new direction, it’s equally certain that it’s the kind of move that only an artist, driven more by conviction and curiosity than by a desire for security, would make. 

“I’m nervous in a way,” Shelton confesses, “but honestly, I’ve thought about it long and hard for a long time, now. I expect that there’ll be people that just will not follow me into this phase, and that’s okay. But i hope there are enough fans that the band has met and cultivated who appreciate the fact that we are different, that I don’t sound like every other Bluegrass singer, so I’m not worried about those people. 

“I just want to make music that isn’t necessarily traditional Bluegrass. I love it, but I also love James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Rock, hard Rock, traditional Country—all of those. Just music. I think that people listen to the way I sing, and they assume I must be ‘going Country,’ but that’s not the direction I’m going. The vocals sound country because it’s me, but I’m not setting out to try to make some huge-sounding, very produced record. I want it to sound good, I want the music to be played right, but I don’t want a wall of sound—I’m not trying to make a Rascal Flatts or Jason Aldean record.”

Working with Barry Bales (Alison Krauss & Union Station) in the producer’s chair, Tim’s already begun work on new material, bringing Miller along with him—“that guy can play anything, I knew right away I wanted him to be part of this,” —and building a spare, “acoustic-plus” sound that puts strong songwriting and exquisitely nuanced vocals front and center. He’s starting to book dates on his own, too, lining up a band that can interpret the new material with guitars (acoustic and electric), keyboards, drums and more—and, he adds, he’s still playing out remaining NewFound Road dates, and doing it in a way that keeps him excited while still honoring the expectations of those audiences. 

It’s a tough road, Tim Shelton says, but it’s a rewarding one. “I’m not trying to make a statement,” he says, “and I’m not trying to say goodbye to bluegrass. I just don’t want to be pigeonholed. I don’t know why I want to do other kinds of music, but it’s just what I feel—and at the end of the day, that’s what I have to do.” 

Singer-songwriter and musician at David Faul Band. This is my personal music page to post demos, live recordings and new original songs.

All the songs posted on my SoundCloud page are simple recordings made with an iPhone. If you are interested in better quality recordings just shoot me a message.

About my band/solo project:

Cincinnati based alt-country showcasing true roots, folk and americana songwriting and musicianship. You'll hear acoustic guitars, piano, harmonies, banjo, fiddle, bass, percussion, harmonicas. This is stripped-down music from the heart of a genre that has produced national treasures such as Wilco, Son Volt, The Avett Brothers, Old Crow Medicine Show, Unle Tupelo, Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, Dylan and Justin Townes Earl.

Angelina has taken both the American and Swedish folk music traditions to her heart and combined it with her songwriting to unleash a new and exciting sound.

She is active as a lead singer and songwriter in the Swedish bluegrass band "Dunderhead" (#1 European Bluegrass Band 2014). 

Angelina's solo album "Down The Line" was recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark with Valdemar Lundh as producer/sound engineer. The band consists of top-class musicians and together with Angelina and her songs they truly create something original within the country genre. 

In the spring of 2012, Angelina was active in the TV-show "The Voice Sweden" as one of the top three members in Magnus Uggla's Team.

2016 International Blues Challenge Finalist Winner - "Best Guitarist (Solo/Duo)" Award

"A master of the mountain dulcimer" - Connections Magazine

"He plays the dulcimer like Jimi Hendrix. He has this ability to communicate a sensual energy when he's onstage" - Tom Shed, Florida Folk Festival organizer  

 "...a high-energy solo performer and frontman..." - Music Connection   

"Musical Tabasco!" - The Orlando Weekly  

Using Appalachian mountain dulcimer, Native American flute, ukulele and a board full of stomp-boxes, Bing Futch celebrates traditional and modern Americana music with passion, humor and boundless energy. Known for his musical shape-shifting, Bing switches the channels on style and tone with every new song, from his roots-rock and blues originals to The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Disney covers.  

As a nationally touring solo performer he's headlined at such events as The Walnut Valley Festival, The Florida Folk Festival, Old Songs Festival, Indiana Fiddlers Gathering, The Big Muddy and Common Ground On The Hill. 

Bing has enjoyed a career as both folkie and rocker, first with post-punk act Crazed Bunnyz in 1986 and much later in 1999 as co-founder of Mohave on mountain dulcimer.  That band, with bassist Mike Burney and drummer McGyver, made their debut performance at the House of Blues at Walt Disney World and would go on to open for Molly Hatchet, St. Somewhere and The Crests.

  In 2006, Bing began performing solo at festivals and music venues across the country. Since then, he has recorded a number of albums and published several music-education books including the best-selling Blues Method For Mountain Dulcimer 101.  

In 2014, Bing won the Solo/Duo Artist award in the Central Florida Blues Challenge competition, earning a coveted entry into the 2015 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN, where he advanced to the semifinals. Several months later, Bing competed in the 2015 Central Florida Blues Challenge and won his category for the second year in a row, which led him back to Memphis to compete in the 2016 International Blues Challenge.  There, he advanced all the way to the finals and was given the award for "Best Guitarist" in the Solo/Duo category, despite competing solely on the mountain dulcimer.  

Bing's music has been featured in film, video, on stage and in exhibits at the Orlando Museum of Art.  He was composer and musical director for "The Jungle Book: A Musical Adaptation" at Stage Left Theater in Orlando, Florida.  He also contributed music to the soundtrack of The Castle of Miracles attraction at Give Kids The World Village in Kissimmee, Florida.

In 2008, Bing became the first endorsing artist for Folkcraft Instruments and has written a number of books for them, including the best-selling Method For Beginning Mountain Dulcimer.  Around that same time, he worked with V-Picks to develop a pick specifically for mountain dulcimers. This collaboration resulted in both the “Bing” Lite and “Bing” Ultra-Lite models.

Typically traveling over 35,000 miles a year in a 32’ Jayco Greyhawk named Marahute, Bing keeps a busy schedule of performances, workshops and production that includes shooting episodes of Dulcimerica, a video series on YouTube that’s been viewed by millions of people worldwide and is currently in its 13th year.  Since the spring of 2020, when coronavirus began to make its presence widely known, he’s been producing music and video from his home in Orlando, Florida and spending lots of time with his wife, Jae, and a menagerie of rescued critters.

Chivalry Timbers. Acoustic. Folk. Instrumental. Celtic. Fiddle. Guitar. Standup Bass. Warren Allen. Kris Staples-Weyrauch. Michael Raper.

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