Dark Shadow Recording is proud to announce the release of “Ride On By,” the new single from Becky Buller’s forthcoming album of cover songs that have shaped her celebrated career. This dynamic rendition, penned by songwriter and wildlife biologist Dick Kimmel, is a longtime staple of Buller’s live shows and now makes its official debut on record.
Originally written as a protest song when interstate construction carved through parts of West Virginia, “Ride On By” made its way to Minnesota when Kimmel accepted a job with the Department of Natural Resources in the early 1980s. There, fate intervened.
“His band most likely performed this song at the Butterfield Threshing Bee that fateful day when my folks were in attendance,” shares Buller. “Dad was mesmerized by the mandolin, eventually bartering carpentry work for lessons from Dick. He introduced my folks to Gordy and Roxy Schultz; together they formed Prairie Grass, the group I picked up fiddle to sing with… and bluegrass music has dominated my destiny ever since.”
Tracked by her current road band—guitarist Jacob Groopman, banjoist Ned Luberecki, mandolinist Wes Lee, bassist/harmony vocalist Daniel Hardin, and Buller herself on fiddle and lead vocals—this spirited track was produced, engineered, and mixed by Stephen Mougin. Fans of Buller’s live shows will recognize the epic “not-so-secret space jam,” a segment that has grown over time and is designed to showcase the ensemble’s collective prowess.
“The arrangement has morphed through the years, most recently to include an epic not-so-secret space jam which gives all of us a chance to show out instrumentally as the hippies dance,” Buller adds. “I’m thrilled it’s finally found a home on this upcoming covers album.”
A 10-time IBMA award-winning Bluegrass artist, Becky Buller made history as the first-ever artist to win in both instrumental and vocal categories in the same year at the IBMA Awards, and is also the first female to claim IBMA’s Fiddle Player of the Year. She moonlights as a member of the all-female supergroup The First Ladies of Bluegrass, recently honored at the Country Music Hall of Fame with their own exhibit. Buller fulfilled a dream in 2021 by making her Grand Ole Opry debut. Her songwriting achievements extend to Grammy Award-winning albums by Molly Tuttle (2023), The Infamous Stringdusters (2019), and The Travelin’ McCourys (2018). In 2023, she was inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall Of Fame.
