Abigail Washburn and Béla Fleck to Release Debut Album

The family that picks together sticks together.

Abigail Washburn and Béla Fleck have been trading banjo riffs since 2005, when both joined the left-field folk band Sparrow Quartet. Now, after a decade of shared gigs and five years of marriage, the two have announced plans for their first album as a duo.

Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn hits stores on October 7. In contrast with the Sparrow Quartet's 2008 release, which combined bluegrass music with Chinese lyrics and Tibetan influences, the self-titled album will focus on Appalachian murder ballads, gospel tunes, blues and other traditions from the American Bible Belt. The couple's......