About a year or so ago, I had the privilege of having Lynn Hollyfield on my radio show, *Roots & Wing,* on WMUC-FM, the U Maryland's station in College Park. She was such a fine guest - quick & witty in repartee, plus a great voice and songs - that when I saw she was going to be featured yesterday afternoon at the Washington Folk Festival in Glen Echo, MD, I made sure I got dropped over there for the day. Great lineup, packed stages - seven of them, as I recall - but I had a great time at Lynn's performance, with a fine band behind her, including piano and harmonies from Carey Creed, and we talked a while after the set. This CD is "LYNN HOLLYFIELD's~NEW ALBUM~IN THE BALANCE" - check her webpage, www.LynnHollyfield.com), and it's a beauty. With mostly her own compositions, some of which she featured in her performance yesterday, plus "New Way to Fly," "Mostly Wild" and "Cul de Sac" (lyrics by Carol Burbank, music by Lynn Hollyfield), there's a range of moods and emotions captured in this music. The band with her (Carey Creed and Grace Griffith - harmony vocals, Brian Smith - piano and organ, Jimmy Brink - percussion, and Steve Wolf - bass) is very tight, even if I heard Carey, who played piano and did backing vocals yesterday, exclaiming as she came offstage, "She doesn't need a band - she's *such* a strong singer!" True, but no harm in this band behind anyone. Anyway, my favorite cuts, as of now, are the title cut, which opens the album, "Cul de Sac" (which she also featured in her set yesterday), "Inside Out" (tricky lyrics here), and "Because of You," a deliberately slow-starting love song which gets more intense the longer it goes (about 5 minutes of steam building up). But you'll find your own favorites once you get hold of it. Do so soon, and see what I'm getting at - John McLaughlin.