Furnace Mountain

Furnace Mountain

Furnace Mountain is a Virginia group that forms in 1992 as the Furnace Mountain Boys and plays old-style Appalachian folk and bluegrass with a modern roots approach. The band also works under the name Furnace Mountain with Aimee Curl on the album Shack Album, issued on Frogville, which combines original and traditional material and includes references to Dylan and Yeats.

Band line-up and members

The group includes Dave Van Deventer, known as Fiddlin' Dave, on fiddle and vocals, Morgan Morrison on bouzouki and vocals, Aimee Curl on bass and vocals, and Danny Knicely on mandolin. Zach Lester appears on bodhran and John Flower on washtub as transient members.

Fiddlin' Dave studies the folk origins of the fiddle, works as a fiddle and mandolin instructor, organises the Watermelon Park Festival, and is a partner in Shepherds Ford Productions. He also performs with the Woodshedders and has played or recorded with Keller Williams, Larry Keel, Cracker, and The Country Gentlemen.

Morgan Morrison starts singing and playing guitar with her family at thirteen, then takes up the bouzouki at eighteen after becoming interested in old-time and Celtic music. She creates her own compositions, arranges traditional songs and tunes, and also sings with the Woodshedders. Her influences include John Morrison, Heidi Martin, John Doyle, Donal Lunny, Bob Dylan, and Sandy Denny.

Aimee Curl is from Loudoun County, Virginia, has a breathy vocal style, and is an original member of the Musemeant. She tours with Dave Matthews, Widespread Panic, and Blues Traveler on the Horde tour, and is also active with the Woodshedders.

Danny Knicely is a fourth-generation Appalachian multi-instrumentalist from a Virginia family rooted in mountain music. He wins awards for mandolin and guitar, including first place in the mandolin contest at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. He records and tours nationally and internationally with groups including Magraw Gap, David Via and Corn Tornado, and James Leva and Purgatory Mountain, and serves as musical director for the Mountain Music Project and Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, which feature Mark Schatz and Eileen Carson.

Music and performances

The band’s music ranges from lively, driving fiddle-led pieces to slower songs with close vocal harmony. It also performs original compositions including “Scrampwang,” “Weezer's Dream,” and “Spuds.” Furnace Mountain has performed widely, including at locations near the Yangtze River in China and along the Shenandoah River, where it hosts the Watermelon Park Fest each year.