Cackalack is a 2010 studio album by Americana singer-songwriter Jonathan Byrd

Jonathan Byrd

Jonathan Byrd is an American singer-songwriter based in Carrboro, North Carolina. He is best known for his narrative tales of love, life, and death in America. In 2003, he was among the winners of the New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival...

. The title is a variation of the word "Cackalacky", a popular (though at times derogatory) nickname for the Carolinas and the songs all connect to the culture and music of Byrd's home state of North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

. The album was recorded in a single day with a group of musicians, including members of Creaking Tree String Quartet.

Reception

The recording was well-received by DJs playing folk and Americana music formats. It reached #22 on the Americana Music Association

Americana Music Association

The Americana Music Association is a trade organization developed to provide professional support and to promote awareness of Americana music. Toward these ends the organization works with artists, radio stations, record labels, publishers, and others to create networking opportunities and to...

 radio chart during the week of February 7, 2011. The album was also ranked #3 for the month of January 2011 on the Folk DJ-L radio chart. The most played tracks included "Cakalack!" and "I Was An Oak Tree". The album also reached #1 on the Roots Music Report "Top 50 Folk" chart.

In a review, Folk Alley's Jim Blum

Jim Blum

Jim Blum is a folk music DJ on WKSU-FM in Kent, Ohio, where he has produced shows for over 25 years in addition to producing shows for Internet radio Folk Alley since its inception in 2003. Blum is also heavily involved with the Kent State Folk Festival....

 described the album as "much more rootsy than his previous releases, and sometimes quite bluegrassy.

Track listing

All songs written by Jonathan Byrd unless indicated otherwise

1. "Chicken Wire" (Jonathan Byrd & Tom Gould) – 3:39
2. "Wild Ponies" – 4:41
3. "I Was an Oak Tree" – 2:44
4. "Reckon I Did" – 3:48
5. "New Moon Rise" – 3:53
6. "Dungarees Overalls" – 2:10
7. "Father's Day" – 4:01
8. "White Oak Wood" – 3:24
9. "Scuppernong" – 3:11
10. "Cackalack!" (Jonathan Byrd & Leonard Podolak) – 2:18

"Livers & Gizzards" (Hidden tracks/outtakes available as WAV

WAV

Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...

 files on the CD release)

1. "38 Baby" – 2:49
2. "Amelia My Dream" – 5:15
3. "Arkansas Traveler's Check" (traditional) – 3:01
4. "Blackberry Blossom" (traditional) – 2:21
5. "Dream Life" – 3:20
6. "Maureen" – 3:01

Credits

Musicians:

• Jonathan Byrd – guitar
  Steel-string acoustic guitar
  A steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...
  
   & vocals
• John Showman – fiddle
  Fiddle
  The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
  
   & vocals
• Brian Kobayakawa – bass & vocals
• Andrew Collins – mandolin
  Mandolin
  A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
  
   & vocals
• Chris Quinn – banjo
  Banjo
  In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
  
   & vocals
• Treasa Levasseur – piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  , accordion
  Accordion
  The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
  
   & vocals
• Ken Whitely – National Steel
  Resonator guitar
  A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones instead of the wooden sound board . Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion...
  
   & vocals

Production:

• Produced – Jonathan Byrd
• Executive producers – Ed & Jand Grant, Jim & Brenda Prescott
• Recorded – Ken Whitely & Nik Tjelios at Casa Wroxton, Toronto, Ontario, November 23, 2009
• Mixed – Jonathan Byrd & Jerry Brown at The Bonus Room, Hillsborough, North Carolina
  Hillsborough, North Carolina
  Hillsborough is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,653 at the 2008 census. It is the county seat of Orange County....
  
  , & The Rubber Room, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
  Chapel Hill, North Carolina
  Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
  
  
• Baby photo – Darling Art, (darling-art.com)
• Design – John Dixon (haledixon.com)