Steve Martin, Alison Brown and Della Mae Reimagine ‘New Cluck Old Hen’ — Clever Video Caps Women’s History Month
steve martin and Grammy Award-winning banjoist Alison Brown have unveiled a new video for their single “New Cluck Old Hen, ” staging a fresh lyrical twist on a traditional Appalachian tune and spotlighting all-female bluegrass quartet Della Mae. Filmed at Brooklyn’s folk venue Jalopy, the clip pairs Celia Woodsmith’s emotive lead vocals with inventive banjo arrangements, presenting the release as both a playful reworking and a deliberate cultural statement timed as a capstone to Women’s History Month.
Why this release matters now
The collaboration crystallizes a wider shift in how banjo music is being presented and marketed: not as a museum piece but as a living, hybrid form. The single sits on Brown and Martin’s debut collaborative album, Safe, Sensible and Sane, released through Compass Records, an album that intentionally pushes the instrument into new terrain by featuring contributions from a range of established artists. Over three years of partnership the duo have produced four number one singles on bluegrass radio and have accumulated more than 77 million views across social media platforms, metrics that point to an audience appetite for reinterpretation rather than strict preservation.
Beyond streaming figures, the track’s timing—framing a traditional mountain song with contemporary lyricism and a female powerhouse on vocals—gives the release cultural heft. It reframes a standard in a way that invites listeners who might otherwise view the banjo as a niche instrument, and it does so while acknowledging lineage rather than erasing it.
Steve Martin and Alison Brown’s ‘New Cluck Old Hen’ video
The video translates the musical concept into a concise visual narrative rooted in communal performance. Brown and Martin lean into the material’s Appalachian origins while deliberately subverting its original poultry-focused lyric. As Steve Martin explains, “I always loved the classic American mountain tune ‘Cluck Old Hen. ‘ Its only problem was it was about chickens. So one day I decided to see if I could give it a new lyric spin. Alison agreed and arranged it with ‘power/bluegrass/fusion. ‘ Whatever that is. ” Steve Martin, Grammy Award-winning banjoist and founder of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize, frames the change as both affectionate and mischievous.
Alison Brown adds a practical production perspective: “Once I read Steve’s lyrics I knew Della Mae would be perfect for the song. And they totally laid down the law, bringing the perfect combination of bluegrass drive and femme attitude to the track. ” Alison Brown, Grammy Award-winning banjoist (Compass Records collaborator), points to Della Mae’s contribution as decisive. The quartet’s lineup—Celia Woodsmith on lead vocals, Kimber Ludiker on fiddle, Avril Smith on guitar, and Vickie Vaughn on bass—anchors the arrangement, marrying traditional bluegrass drive with modern attention to vocal phrasing and attitude.
The choice of Jalopy as the shoot locale strengthens the release’s connection to contemporary folk circuits, positioning the song within small-venue intimacy rather than stadium spectacle. The result is a video that reads as both a promotional vehicle and a short, culturally aware statement about who gets to sing these songs and how they can be reshaped.
Regional and industry ripple effects
At stake is more than one single: the collaborators are leveraging their profiles to widen the instrument’s audience and to recognize underrepresented contributors. Alison Brown’s own historical milestone as the first female recipient of the IBMA’s Banjo Player of the Year award in 1991 and Martin’s prior recognition as Entertainer of the Year are presented within the collaboration as credentials that help open doors. The Steve Martin Banjo Prize, which has awarded more than $500, 000 to banjo players across genres, is another structural example of how the duo’s visibility translates into tangible investment in the field.
Safe, Sensible and Sane’s roster of guest artists broadens the album’s reach and creates cross-genre pathways that may increase festival bookings and radio play beyond traditional bluegrass channels. The recording also intersects with institutional recognition: both artists are part of an American Currents exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame, a placement that consolidates the project’s institutional legitimacy while prompting conversations about genre evolution.
As the video circulates and the single continues to find listeners, one clear question remains: can reinterpretations like this sustain momentum for the banjo as both a rooted and forward-looking instrument, and will collaborations that center female performers reshape audience expectations? The creative partnership behind “New Cluck Old Hen” suggests the answer depends on sustained, visible commitments—on record, on stage, and in funding—that extend beyond a single song or clip and that amplify contributors such as Della Mae and steve martin.
