With the release of Northern Redemption, The Abrams Brothers – John, James and cousin Elijah – make a transition from the music of their roots to their own distinct sound. It’s a combination of bluegrass, country and folk-rock that’s had the Canadian festival circuit up in arms over their potential, and the rest are sure to catch on.  

The release of the first single, “Nothing At All,” to Canadian radio on May 10, 2011 launched the band onto a two-week country radio tour, and saw them make tremendous in-roads at CBC Radio as well.  The Toronto Star raved, “The Abrams Brothers have been blowing away audiences with their virtuoso playing and effortless harmonies drawn on a long family tradition of bluegrass and folks music.”  And that’s just the start of the journey for this album. 

The past couple years have seen the much-loved Canadian trio rising through the ranks. In 2009 the band released Blue On Brown, an album of songs by Arlo Guthrie and Bob Dylan.  The record was the boys’ tribute to songwriters they had always admired, and even Arlo Guthrie, the legend himself, chimed in saying they were “way too young to be playing that good.”  When the video for the band’s next single, a cover of Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida” made a splash on CMT in both the U.S. and Canada, the band reached a larger audience yet.  And in late 2010 The Abrams Brothers released a new video for the single “Mermaid Town” that went straight into medium rotation on CMT.

The Abrams Brothers are fourth-generation musicians with musical roots reaching back to their great-grandparents. And despite their age, veteran is certainly not a word out of reach given their credits. They’ve been touring together for almost a decade – and in the past few years, have become Canadian festival favorites.  In 2005, the Ontario-based group became the youngest Canadians to appear on Nashville’s iconic Grand Ole Opry.  They’ve toured Europe, and several times have performed for the Jacob’s Ladder Folk Festival in Israel. In 2006, the band received the Daniel Pearl Memorial violin, given to especially gifted young musicians.

Northern Redemption is an album of love gained and lost and one about getting out and moving on.  Yes, The Abrams Brothers have grown up and truly shine as young men on this one – young men with a taste of life whose insecurities fall second to a passion to make their own destiny.