Biography

After 2 years, Bluegrass powerhouse Sideline returned to the studio. “The Lives Of The Innocent,” the first song to be released from that session, is a hard-charging Civil War story. Says the groups guitarist Skip Cherryholmes, “There was a lot of bottled up magic that came bursting out when we hit the first downbeat. This song fits the very definition of what Sideline is as a sound, and the energy we project. It certainly enters the catalog as a blood-pumping, foot stomping, Sideline hit for the ages.”
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“It was great getting back in the studio after over 2 years - there was a lot of bottled up magic that came bursting out when we hit the first downbeat,” says Sideline’s Skip Cherryholmes of the group’s first recording session for Mountain Home Music Company since announcing their retirement from touring in the spring of 2023. And sure enough, there’s plenty of the band’s magical signature sound to be heard on the first fruits of that session, a hard-charging Civil War story titled “The Lives of the Innocent.”

Joining guitarist Cherryholmes and fellow founding member Steve Dilling (banjo) is a dream team of young musicians that includes guest fiddler Matt Flake, former Sideline members Nick Goad (mandolin), bassist Kyle Windbeck and singer Bailey Coe, whose hard-edged lead is framed by harmonies from Dilling and Goad on the song’s memorable chorus:

Deep inside the coldest heart
Death pain and sorrow starts
Nothing left but sadness spent
On the lives of the innocent

“‘The Lives of the Innocent’ was a song that was inspired by the Hibriten Guards during the Civil War that mustered in Alexander County, NC,” explains its writer, bluegrass musician—and US history teacher—Shannon Slaughter. “They saw heavy combat during the war, suffering a high casualty rate, and this tune chronicles what potentially could have been one of the soldiers in those ranks. Steve and the guys bumped the tempo a little and captured the essence of the song, and the singing is just top-notch!”

With Cherryholmes’ muscular guitar and Dilling’s driving banjo paving the way, the sextet keeps the tone ominous throughout the performance, its brooding energy reflecting an awareness of the war’s cost and the urgency of the lesson. “This song fits the very definition of what Sideline is as a sound, and the energy we project,” Cherryholmes observes. “It certainly enters the catalog as a blood-pumping, foot stomping, Sideline hit for the ages.”

About Sideline
Sideline is a pedigreed powerhouse whose style has set the pace in Bluegrass for over two decades. Founders Steve Dilling and Skip Cherryholmes can all claim their own historical significance to the genre as members of highly awarded groups, multiple Grand Ole Opry appearances and years of national and international touring. What started as a side project for the seasoned players soon moved to the front and center and they began to record and release albums in earnest. In 2019 Sideline won the IBMA Song Of The Year Award for their hit single, "Thunder Dan."

To listen to Sideline reminds the fan of why so many people fall in love with Bluegrass in the first place; pulse-pounding drive, songs sung from the heart, perfected timing and dynamics as well as a visceral emotion in the rendering. A band that was started as an off-season fun experiment has become a full-time dream team of players and singers.

The band, recorded or live, moves dynamically from well chosen, hard-hitting neo-traditional covers of classic songs to new material curated by a band with a perfect sense of who they are and what they have to say. Combine all this with their on-stage energy and finesse as well as their powerful and affecting harmonies, and you have the embodiment of the North Carolina Bluegrass sound. Sideline has released 4 national projects and records for the highly awarded Mountain Home Music Company based near Asheville, NC.