Written by Adison Nadler for Music Mecca
2.12.23

Larry & Joe transcend the barriers of language with songs that celebrate love, life, nature, and all the little details that come with the human experience, regardless of your latitude and longitude.

Written by Brian Slattery for New Haven Independent
12.18.23

For the final segment of their set…Troop invited the audience to dance, which fully half the crowd rose from their seats to do, dodging among the stools and chairs and laughing the entire time.

In the swirling rhythms and moving feet, with some people picking more traditional two-steps and others just doing what they felt, this final short dance party felt like another step in Larry & Joe’s musical mission, as borders melted away and past met present, and everyone was moving into the future together.

Recorded by Virginia Folklife with WMRA's Chris Boros and Pat Jarrett from Folklife
12.1.2022

The Nuevo South is that, highly impacted by Latinos who are here. That’s the largest growing demographic. It’s important that it be recognized what we are. That’s what we are.

Because we are a society. We the people. Neither of us care about politics, neither of us care about perpetuating our own myths. We both want to go in with an open heart, an open mind, and learn. But I think it’s time to rejoice in the diversity of where we live.

Written by Katei Cranford for Yes! Weekly
10.19.22

“Serving as a tangible example of the work they’re weaving, the album highlights the universal language of music in its production and its offering — with neither limited to the wax on a record for Larry & Joe — as people or as a duo. “

Written by Fran Daniel for the Winston-Salem Journal
8.13.22

Bellorín said, translated by Troop: “Working with Joe is a very unique experience — full of magic and musicality. The most important thing is that Joe’s music and Venezuelan music are being fused, but not forcibly. We can foresee in the future having our very own unique style of music through which future generations can identify themselves in this fusion of bluegrass and musica llanera.”

Escrito por Nick McGregor para Indy Week
Traducido a español por Caryl Espinoza Jaen
7.20.22

Este concepto esta fundado en la palabra española “inquietud,” Bellorín dice. Troop y él pasaron muchos minutes jocosos tratando de encontrar posibles traducciones en inglés—¿antigüedad?, ¿nostalgia?, ¿inquietud?, ¿reflexión?—antes de aceptar la falta de una perfecta definición. “Ese es el puente que estamos construyendo,” Bellorín dice. “Estamos culturalmente venciendo barreras a nuestra música. El lenguaje no es una barrera porque tocamos en un set bilingüe. Raza y color no son barreras; al final toda sangre es roja. Estamos promoviendo un mensaje de unidad entre las dos tradiciones folclóricas.”

Written by Nick McGregor for Indy Week
7.20.22

This concept is baked into the Spanish word inquietude, Bellorín says. He and Troop spend several jocular minutes cycling through possible English translations—Ancientness? Longing? Concern? Reflection?—before accepting the lack of any perfect analog. “That’s the bridge we’re building,” Bellorín says. “We’re structurally dismantling barriers to our music. Language isn’t a barrier, since we play a bilingual set. Race and color aren’t barriers; in the end, all blood is red. We’re promoting a message of unity between our two folk traditions.”

Written by David Menconi for Walter Magazine
6.1.22

“Joe is an impressive person and an impressive talent,” says banjo legend Béla Fleck, a regular collaborator. “He’s passionate, cares deeply about injustice in the world and he’s not afraid to take a stand. Combine that with his amazing abilities as a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and composer, and you’ve got a powerhouse.”

Written by Dr. Sophia Enriquez for MusicMaker.org.
5.31.22

”Latino experiences in the South are diverse and complex, irreducible to a single voice, perspective, or musical tradition. In the Nuevo South, music remains at the center of how many communities understand their relationship to place and allows us to approach these various lived experiences and stories with greater care. Troop and Bellorín’s work is an important part of this larger musical project that brings previously overlooked stories to the fore through new musical friendships.”

Written by Lindsey Terrell for Folkworks.org
4.22.22

“It is my belief that music is one of the most powerful and effective buoys for hope.

It is also my belief that no one is doing this better than these two artists. They work together to weave a sonic tapestry that foretells a different future for our world, one of unity, love, prosperity, and mutual respect.”