The studio release, River City, is this band’s third album. And like a river, it flowed through several cities, starting in Rutherfordton, NC. Songs came about as the singer-songwriters started writing after the previous albums. Some songs such as “Wear Me Down Blues” and “Look Down on Me in Nashville” were chosen from David Thurman’s song catalog. “Look Down on Me in Nashville” is a traditional country song, written about the Sam Davis Hotel in Nashville that was torn down to make room for the skyscrapers that light up the River City, Nashville, at night. “Summer Days”, a modern country song, is about teen angst and is written to entertain audiences. As the recording sessions started in North Carolina, Abbot Grivich, a singer-songwriter for their second album, Brand New Toy, played guitar for “Summer Days”, “Tragic Queen”, and “Thunder Road”. “Tragic Queen” is reminiscent of an English Ballad, written by Lisa Thurman after she read a biography of a historically tragic queen, not to give away the last line of the song. You’ll have to listen to it. “Thunder Road” is an actual road in Rutherford County, NC. This is a catchy bluegrass song written for and performed at the Ellenboro Bluegrass Festival as well as other events. “Little Red Bird”, written on the banjo by Lisa Thurman brings up thoughts of wanting to be someplace else, or, imagining to be something entirely different. Rivers move from city to city and the leading band members, Lisa and David Thurman, moved Aweberry Records recording studio to the River City, Chattanooga, where Lisa wrote and recorded the Title Track, “The Dam Song”. “The Dam Song” is about moving from the country to an industrial city. Living six miles from a nuclear power plant, the songwriter was close to a river dam when the dam was hit by a tornado. The lyrics , “Hope the Dam don’t break” and “Hope the nuclear power plant don’t radiate” were written with the tornado, the Fukishima incident and other events in mind. Travers Thurman recorded his debut song, “Hope You Know”, in Chattanooga. Dylan Blanchard, native of Austin, Texas and a music graduate of College of Santa Fe, New Mexico played drums in Chattanooga for Travers’ song and then laid down tracks on “Summer Days” and “Celebrate Your Life”. Dylan, living in Denver, Colorado at the time, enlisted the help of Ben Clary, a Denver musician, to play the opening guitar riffs on “Summer Days” and “Celebrate Your Life”. Forrest Thurman played trombone. “Celebrate Your Life” is upbeat and is inspired by River City New Orleans style folk jazz. Following the sessions, a number of the songs were performed by Lisa and David Thurman at the Chattanooga Songwriter’s Showcase and other venues throughout the region. Rivers often snake around again to the last bend and Lisa and David Thurman moved back to Western North Carolina. David completed the vocals for “The Rainbow”, a song about optimism in the face of adversity. Although spicy in styles, the recordings are consistent and the album’s songs make the listener feel like they are in the same room as the musicians. This album is inspiring to listen to and will be enjoyed by iPod and CD player listeners and audiences of Americana Roots, Folk and Country Radio.