When Danny Burns released his 2019 debut album North Country, the Ireland-born folksinger had already built a reputation on both sides of the Atlantic for his robust vocals and keen storytelling. On his six-song EP Hurricane, Burns’ 2021 sophomore project continued his successful approach of incorporating elements of country, rock and bluegrass into his resolute, durable Americana blend with a cadre of masterful guest artists. Much like his 2021 project, his 2023 release Promised Land has a wonderfully varied mix of rocking lyrical delivery, hot instrumental riffs, contemplative as well as edgy musical moods.

Featuring guests like Tim O’Brien, Sam Bush, Bryan Simpson, Áine Burns, Tim Crouch, Billy Conteras, Josh Methany, Matt Menefree and many others, the track on Promised Land hold many musical surprises.  Opening with “Someone Like You,” a spin on the famous Adele tune, Burns reinvents it with an upbeat bluegrass/Americana twist. In fall 2022, it climbed and became Burns’ first #1 the Grassicana Chart.

While Danny Burns sings most of the lead vocals, we also hear singing from Tim O’Brien, Bryan Simpson, Sam Bush, Áine Burns  and Dennis Parker. I personally like playing a jazzy arrangement of “Fields of Gold” at some of my gigs, and I never thought of arranging it like Danny has with a haunting grassified sound driven with Scott Vestal’s banjo.  His hardest driving contemporary bluegrass arrives at track five, “Some Might Say,” a track originally made famous by Oasis. Burns follows that with a poignant and emotive version of “Danny Boy.”

Also in a more traditional vein, “Dirty Old Town,” written in 1949 by folksinger, song-carrier, activist and actor Ewan MacColl, has been popularized by The Dubliners and The Pogues. Danny Burns makes the standard his own as his evocative and compelling vocals tell about Salford in Lancashire, England, where MacColl was born and raised.  The first verse refers to the gasworks croft, open land adjacent to the gasworks, and Burns refers to it as the gasworks wall. The song also speaks of the old Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal. The line in MacColl’s original version about smelling a spring on “the Salford wind” is sung by Burns (like others have) as “the smoky wind.”

On his past projects, Danny Burns showed an affinity for the edgy Americana and outlaw country sounds of Steve Earle and Guy Clark. Burns’ rendition of Steve Earle’s “Nothing but a Child” and Guy Clark’s “Magnolia Wind” will garner considerable airplay. The former features a beautiful duet with Áine Burns, and the latter is colored with Michael Webb’s accordion.   Burns closes with “Promised Land,” another title cut that projects confidence, sensitivity and optimism. Justin Schipper’s pedal steel, Jerry Roe’s percussion and Ethan Burkhardt’s bass, the song is effervescent Americana. With its stellar guest artists, varied radio-friendly material, masterful instrumentation and shining vocals, Promised Land is another very successful outing with its seamless and diverse mix of roots-oriented contemporary folk material from both sides of the Atlantic. (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)