Farmhands Unite Richie Owens

• 1 Ain't Goin' Back Again 03:08
• 2 Goodnight 03:48
• 3 Love Has Run Away 03:20
• 4 Pigeon River Flood 03:11
• 5 Used To Have A Lot 02:48
• 6 With Our Hearts 02:10
• 7 Why Can't I Leave 03:30
• 8 She Over Runs My Heart 03:40
• 9 I Can't Stay 02:43
• 10 I'm A Comin' Home 03:10
• 11 Cocke County Blues 03:53
• Total Runtime 35:21

Info for Farmhands Unite

The music of Richie Owens & The Farm Bureau is described as “traditional country blues, folk and bluegrass, modernised into authentic Americana roots music”.

Their sound is heavily influenced by traditional instruments such as guitars, mandolins, Dobros and banjos.

“Americana is by defined by authenticity.” - There is no one more authentically Americana than Richie Owens

A fifth-generation Appalachian musician, storyteller, producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, Richie grew up surrounded by the sounds of East Tennessee, the Smoky Mountains, old-time gospel, early country, folk ballads, mountain blues, and the working-class stories that shaped American roots music. His family history runs deep through the same soil that gave the world Dolly Parton, Tennessee mountain music, and the lasting traditions of Appalachian song.

Richie has toured the world as a member of Dolly Parton’s band, performed on major international stages, produced and recorded with legendary artists, and worked across music, film, and storytelling for decades. But at the heart of what he does now is something more intimate, more personal, and more powerful: carrying the story of Appalachia forward.

“Richie Owens has been around Nashville for quite some time now. Back in 1998, he helped to produce an album on one of his talented family members who also owns a theme park in East Tennessee (Think about that one for a second.) For the past few years, Owens has been making some very unique music with the Farm Bureau, and they have developed quite a following. This disc is sure to keep that momentum surging forward, particularly in the Americana format. Richie and company have come up with a winner of an album, for sure!” - Chuck Dauphin - Music News Nashville

“Owens launches a long overdue solo career with his impressive new album. Boasting a broad array of musical references, it runs a wide gamut—from rock to country and from blues to bluegrass – yet still manages to flow together seamlessly.” - Lee Zimmerman, No Depression

Richie Owens, guitars, vocals
John Reed, bass, backing vocals
Brian O'Hanlon, drums, percussion, backing vocals

Richie Owens
Music isn’t just in Richie Owens’ blood, it’s in every muscle and sinew of his body, not to mention his soul. Credit it to a bloodline that runs from the hills of Northern Wales to the mountains of East Tennessee and on to the backstreets, music clubs and studios of Nashville. But it’s also the result of a life dedicated to absorbing musical influences, fusing them with his own talent and voice, and making music the hard and simple way, with heart, soul and determination.

Growing up, it was harder for Richie to find relatives who weren’t making music than for those who were. His grandfather, the Rev. Jake Owens was a fire and brimstone preacher, a songwriter, music teacher, and an old-time country fiddler who could tear up a tune on “The Devil’s Box” on a Saturday night. He reared a family of eight children who became musicians, singers, and storytellers, passing their birthright on to their descendants. Richie’s father, Louis Owens, was a singer, songwriter, guitar player, record producer, and DIY country music entrepreneur who played an important role in helping to build the career of his niece, Dolly Parton.

Despite Richie’s deep roots in country music, by the time he was a teenager, he was a rock fan like any kid growing up in the 1970s. Grabbing onto punk spirit in the late 70s, Richie fused his love for the Beatles and bluegrass with a dash of The Damned and the Sex Pistols. The result made him a founding father of the Nashville punk and alternative rock scene, with his bands The Resistors and The Movement, his self-built studio, The Refuge, and his label, Neo Records, one of the first Nashville-based indie rock labels.

Over the next several decades, Richie’s creative flame burned brightly as a bandleader, record producer, studio engineer, musician, and instrument designer. He’s worked with a varied list of artists, including The Georgia Satellites, Social Distortion, Television guitarist Richard Lloyd, The Kentucky Headhunters, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Vince Gill, and many more. He also kept his family ties in place, producing Dolly Parton’s acclaimed 1998 album, Hungry Again; followed by her 1999 gospel album, Precious Memories; and the 2024 Dolly Parton & Family album, Smoky Mountain DNA, along with backing Dolly for many live appearances.

Over the last two decades, he’s led his band Richie Owens & the Farm Bureau through several albums and live appearances around the world, including an acclaimed appearance at 2023 Fairport’s Cropredy Convention folk festival in the UK. In addition to founding Owepar Entertainment and constructing and running the Historic Fireside Studio, a re-birth of the classic Nashville studio that was built by his father, Louis Owens, in 1973 in partnership with Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner.

This album contains no booklet.