The Okee Dokee Brothers Through The Woods An Appalachian Adventure Album Review

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The Okee Dokee Brothers, Justin Lansing and Joe Mailander, are wonderful outdoors men and Americana folk musicians. The duo are at it again with a new album and adventure. This new album is called Through The Woods, An Appalachian Adventure and it is their second Adventure Album. This album, just like the last one, has a DVD along with the CD and field journal that shares footage of their journey in the part of the USA they are trekking in.

In this album The Okee Dokee Brothers spent a month hiking, camping, backpacking, filming, and making music (This whole CD and DVD!) on location through the Appalachian Trail. They met some neat people along the way that shared their stories and music with them while they took a small breather from exploring the outdoors and creating their own songs. This album is a wonderful compilation of 15 original tracks from The Okee Dokee Brothers with songs that feature guest artists as well as emulating the traditional old-time Appalachian music with their sounds and styles. This album features an array of instruments such as fiddlesticks, pots, pans, auto-harp, bones, clogs, mouth bow, gut-string banjo, washboard, jaw harp, mountain dulcimer, fiddle, hambone, bass harmonica and whistling.

My favorite part of the DVD: The Okee Dokee Brothers with wild ponies :)

See the Trailer for the Through The Woods DVD here...



The Okee Dokee Brother's last album, Can You Canoe?, won a GRAMMY for best children's music album in the 55th GRAMMY Awards! It was well deserved because it is a fantastic album. I also believe Through The Woods is really good and deserves the highest of accolades.

Track Listing on the CD:

1. Through The Woods: The title track to this CD, a great song about going on an adventure with friends through the woods.
2. Big Rock Candy Mountain (with Hubby Jenkins-Carolina Chocolate Drops on bones and mandolin): A fun upbeat banjo/mandolin pickin' song about a made-up place called Candy Mountain.
3. Jamboree: A great dancing song about a jamboree. I love the lyrics to this one...so perfect!
4. Evergreen: I love this song about trees. It has sweet lyrical poetry and sings the beauty of the forest.
5. Walking With Spring (with Cathy Fink, on mountain dulcimer): This song is a perfect song to go hiking with and reminds us to slow down and enjoy the scenery and beauty around us.
6. Out of Tune: This is a fun song about how it is sometimes better to live life a little bit out of tune.
7. Black Bear Mama (with David Holt-Doc Watson/O Brother, Where Art Thou? on gut-string banjo and mouth bow): Great song about a Black Bear Mama and has a fun fast part in the middle.
8. Hillbilly Willy: One of my favorites on this CD about a hillbilly and his silly wife. Fun and upbeat too.
9. Riddle & Rhyme: This is a great rhyming song to slap your knee or clap to.
10. Tiny Little Life: Upbeat fiddle song about a life of simplicity.
11. Ruby Jane: A sweet love song about a farm girl sweetheart.
12. Fiddlestick Joe (with Marcy Marxer on cello banjo): A fun fiddling upbeat dancing song.
13. Lighten Your Load: This song reminds us that it is better to pack light.
14. Echo: A yodeling love song.
15. Baby Mine (with Rosie Newton on fiddle and vocals): This is a sweet lullaby, wonderful to put kids to bed to and a gorgeous end to the CD.

With their beards, flannel shirts, overalls and instruments The Okee Dokee Brothers are sure fun to watch perform on stage as well. You can see when their next show is here. They played at the Mountain Park Recreation Center on May 4th at 7pm in Lake Oswego, Oregon. I was pretty bummed when I couldn't make that performance with my family of 6 this year. Hopefully they'll make it around here again soon.

This album is great to take with you to listen to on a family road trip, around a campfire or even while hiking. It is a wonderful reminder to get outside to experience and explore nature with your family and friends. Through The Woods is wonderful kids music that resonates with adults as well. I love The Okee Dokee Brother's adventure albums because they bring back so many good memories of the great outdoors when I was a child and remembering helps me recreate wonderful memories with my own kids. The messages in all the songs are good and wholesome and The Okee Dokee Brothers feel like Kindred Spirits to me. I can't wait for the next adventure album in this series!

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Beth Blenz-Cluc​as of Sugar Mountain PR for sending me a free The Okee Dokee Brothers - Through The Woods An Appalachian Adventure Album CD/DVD to listen to and review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.