Today, Melton & Miller Music has released their latest single for Buddy Melton, former fiddler and vocalist with Balsam Range, and a 2025 North Carolina Award for Fine Arts recipient.
It’s a song called Blue Skies, written by Jeb Stuart Anderson, James Ellis, Jeff Smith, and David Tolliver, which extols a good life where things are going your way.
Of the new single, Buddy says…
“I have been thinking about recording Blue Skies for a long time. In the mid-’90s, Milan Miller and I started collaborating and creating music together, just as he moved to Nashville. I began making regular trips there to write, perform, and enjoy a music scene that was full of young songwriters who would become good friends and incredible artists. Every chapter of my musical journey seems to connect to the next, and over the years I’ve recorded many songs that grew out of those early relationships. Blue Skies is one of those songs—rooted in great writers and dear friends from over twenty years ago. It wasn’t originally written as a bluegrass tune, but I always knew it would feel right at home there.”
Buddy plays bass and sings the lead vocal, with support from Sam Bush on mandolin, Stephen Mougin on guitar, Bennett Sullivan on banjo, and Casey Driessen on fiddle. Milan Miller added harmony vocals.
Melton spoke quite highly of this bunch.
“Recording Blue Skies with this lineup was a truly rewarding experience. After years on the road, I’ve been fortunate to befriend many of my musical heroes—among them Sam Bush. I’ve recorded with Sam before, even winning an IBMA Collaborative Recording award with him and Terry Baucom, but I’d never had the chance to feature him on one of my own tracks. When he agreed to join me in the studio, I began searching for the perfect song to showcase his style. When I remembered Blue Skies, I got overly excited and knew it was the one!
The session was a joy from start to finish. My thanks to Stephen Mougin for his standout playing and expert engineering at Dark Shadows Studio, and to Van Atkins at The Shop Studio for bringing the mix together so seamlessly. In addition to Sam and Stephen, I’m also deeply grateful to Bennett Sullivan, Milan Miller, and Casey Driessen for lending their remarkable talents.
I couldn’t be happier with how this track came together.”
Give it a listen and see what you think.
Blue Skies is available now from popular download and streaming services online, and to radio programmers via AirPlay Direct and Get It Played.
