Since their debut on the South Florida music scene in 1996, the folk-rock duo Big Blue Sky has earned a following among serious music fans for their “bright, dead-on harmonies,” “thick, full-bodied sound”, and “intelligent, folkspun, lyrical storytelling”. Their first release in 1998, On The Verge, was picked up by Brambus Records of Switzerland and launched the duo of Susan Crago and Jill Apolinario onto the European and national music scenes.

A tour of the northeastern states led Crago and Apolinario to decide to relocate to New England. “The change of seasons appealed to us, as well as the proximity of so many great musical venues and festivals,” said Apolinario. The move has paid off as Big Blue Sky is now making a name for themselves on the northeastern coffeehouse circuit and appeared on the Rhode Island Songwriters stage at the Newport Folk Festival in 2001.

2 a.m. Driving, their sophomore release, is a collection of 11 songs written by Crago chronicling some of the journeys she and Apolinario have had since the release of On the Verge. The two began recording 2 a.m. in a studio but felt creatively stifled by the foreign environment so they decided to bring the project home. With Apolinario’s extensive knowledge of computers, they set up a home studio and recorded almost all of the tracks in their apartment. “Bringing it home allowed us to relax and stretch a bit and try things we didn’t feel comfortable doing in a studio,” said Crago. “It took us a lot longer but we’re really happy with the results. This is truly our art.”

The title of their new CD is a line from the last cut on the disc, This Road, which received an honorable mention award in the folk category of The John Lennon Songwriting Contest in 2000. Other songs on the release include One Foot Out the Door, a hilarious country spoof; Tattoo, a folk-pop tune with abstract slice-of-life lyrics; and 1968, a collage of images of the 60’s revolutionary days juxtaposed against the stark realities of now.

Throughout the CD, Crago’s vocals and guitar work and Apolinario’s harmonies and bass groove combine to lift the songs out of the singer-songwriter genre and propel them into a category of their own.