It’s “A Better Place” for Detour Bluegrass Band

Traverse City, MI -- Powerhouse bluegrass band, Detour, begins the new year with a bang as chart success for their album, A Better Place continues to pour in. This stellar project is currently: #10 on Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine’s Top 15 Album Chart; appears on Bluegrass Today’s Top Favorite Albums of 2012 by David Morris; is #3 on WYCO Radio’s The Bluegrass Express Top 20 Songs for 2012; and one of Prescription Bluegrass’ Top 15 CDS of 2012. "Frankly, this band just blew us away,” said Brian McNeal of Prescription Bluegrass.

Detour band member and songwriter Jeff Rose said, "We believe that deejays are truly unsung heroes of the bluegrass music world and we are deeply grateful for the support that we have received from them over the past year.”

Jeff penned “Quarterline Road” that has been all over numerous charts since the album’s release last year. It hit #1 twice on Bluegrass Today’s Weekly Top 20 Song chart, is currently at #10 on this month’s Bluegrass Unlimited Top 30 Songs Chart, and has appeared numerous times on Sirius XM’s Bluegrass Junction’s Most Played Tracks chart with the album now appearing on the Most Played Albums chart.

Another hot single, “Lovin’ Liza Jane” written by band member Missy Armstrong, is #10 on this month’s Bluegrass Today Top 20 Songs Chart and appeared near the top of SiriusXM Bluegrass Junction’s Most Played Tracks last month. David Morris of Bluegrass Today recalled, “Last August, walking from the parking lot toward the stage at the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival, I heard a voice that stopped me in my tracks. It belonged to Missy Armstrong, who I think is destined to start showing up among the nominees for IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year. I picked up their album, A Better Place, that day in the merchandise tent and it’s been in regular rotation ever since. Jeff Rose is a talented songwriter, the band is tight and the project is top-shelf.”

Detour is donating proceeds from the sales of its song "Homeless Of The Brave" to Goodwill’s Patriot Place project. Patriot Place is a transitional housing community for Northern Michigan’s homeless veterans. Detour recently presented Goodwill with a check for $1,000 which is the first of what they hope will be many installments. Radio stations can download the PSA’s, plus the entire album at AirplayDirect.

Detour is a Michigan-based bluegrass band that combines original contemporary bluegrass sounds with great traditional favorites. The band's "My Life Just Ain't a Bluegrass Song," from its second album, "The Road That Lies Ahead," (2009, BlueGrass Ahead), placed in the BU top 30 and the Roots Music top 50 for six months in 2010.

The band’s talented line-up features the soaring lead vocals of Missy Armstrong, the championship fiddling of Peter Knupfer, the inventive rhythm lines of Jack Grant on bass, the soulful guitar of Scott Zylstra, the hard driving mandolin and superb song writing of Jeff Rose, and the stellar banjo playing of Kevin Gaugier. Detour has quickly become a standout — “a bluegrass joyride” that the Lansing State Journal acclaims as “perhaps the best bluegrass band Michigan has yet produced.”

A Better Place is available for purchase online at itunes, Amazon, Elderly.com, Countysales.com and CDBaby.com.

Detour is currently on tour and will soon announce another exciting single release that includes news on an upcoming music video. Fans are encouraged to visit the band online at their website, Facebook and Twitter for more news and videos.