Sacramento’s The Kentucky Trust Fund just dropped a debut full-length that hits like a shot of bourbon chased with a mandolin solo to the gut. Last Flight rocks. Plain and simple.
We’re talking 52 minutes across 11 tracks that build, swell, and absolutely detonate when you least expect it. The band—Bill Craig pounding drums and singing, Sarah Houck on vocals/guitar/piano, Mike Martin slinging guitar and vocals, Scott Sanders making that mandolin scream, Steve Craig holding down the bass, and Shawn Slaughter on additional guitar—they’ve made something that lives in the space between heartbreak and hope, between quiet verses and choruses that’ll knock you sideways.
Sarah Houck deserves special mention here. Her voice cuts like a knife through warm butter—sweet when it needs to be, ragged and raw when the moment calls for it. She shares writing credits across every single track with Mike Martin and Bill Craig, and you can feel that collaborative spirit in every transition, every harmonic choice. Scott Sanders on mandolin? Absolute killer. They say the mandolin solos “melt your face or lift your heart (frequently both)”—and they’re not wrong. On tracks like “Volunteer“, Sanders lets loose with runs that’d make bluegrass purists weep while the rhythm section kicks into overdrive behind him.
“I’m Coming Back” opens things at 4:45 with a statement of intent—big harmonies, that signature Kentucky Trust Fund build, Houck leading the charge while the band locks in behind her. It’s the sound of a band that’s been grinding since 2018 finally getting their statement on tape. “The Last Flight Out of Saigon” is the title track for a reason. Epic without being pretentious, emotional without getting sappy. Martin and Craig’s rhythm section pushes hard while Houck delivers lyrics about… well, you don’t need us to spell it out. The title tells you everything about the weight this song carries.
But here’s where it gets interesting: “Smile at Me” clocks in at only 2:10—a quick hit of pure folk-rock adrenaline before “Volunteer” crushes you at nearly six minutes. That sequencing matters. The band understands dynamics, knows when to punch and when to pull back.
“Heresy” and “False Advertising” work as a one-two punch midway through. “Heresy” especially shows off the vocal arrangements that have made this band a Sacramento live favourite—three, four, five voices weaving in and out, harmonies stacking like planes over O’Hare. “Family Reunion (What Part of You)” feels like the most personal cut here. Houck, Martin, and Craig’s writing shines when they’re exploring complicated relationships—the kind of songs that make you text your ex or call your mom, depending on your mood.
Then there’s “The Ballad of Donnie Dirtbag.” Six minutes and forty-nine seconds. Closer of the album. And holy hell, does it deliver. This is the track where every influence—Americana, bluegrass, folk, rock—collides in the best possible way. Sanders’ mandolin cuts like barbed wire, Slaughter’s guitar adds texture, and the whole thing builds to a climax that justifies the runtime.
We’ve sat through plenty of “debut albums” from bands who’ve been around awhile. Most of them feel like compilations—songs written over years that don’t quite fit together. Last Flight doesn’t have that problem. These 11 tracks (originals, all of them) flow like a proper album should. The Kentucky Trust Fund describes their live shows as “upbeat, immersive, and designed to pull you into a world that feels bigger, brighter, and more alive.” That’s exactly what this record does. Fifty-two minutes of harmony-heavy, heart-forward rock music that actually moves. Not many bands pull that off. These six Sacramentans? They’re the real deal.
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