CMT News

Alison Krauss and Dolly Parton are among the many singers who will appear on Maura O'Connell's upcoming album, Naked With Friends. A mix of traditional and contemporary songs, the a cappella album will be released June 16 on Sugar Hill Records. Other guests include Paul Brady, Mary Black, Jerry Douglas, the Duhks' Sarah Dugas, Tim O'Brien and Darrell Scott, as well as many contemporary Irish singers. "The idea of doing a record like this has been with me a very long time," O'Connell says. "I'm always being asked why I don't play an instrument or why I don't write songs. I've gathered the consciousness that singing should be just fine, that it is a viable talent on its own."