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Pearlgrace • The Old pine road • Amanda shaw PRESERVING THE TRADITION OF BLUEGRASS MUSIC INTO THE FUTURE
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OUR CHOICE
12 CONTENT OUR STAFF
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BILLY & THE KIDS BLUEGRASS
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THE OLD PINE ROAD BAND
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RHONDA VINCENT
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CAROLYN VINCENT
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PEARLGRACE
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THE HIGH WATER LINE
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VIDEO CHART
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FAN PHOTOS
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Our Staff
Keith Barnacastle • Publisher
The Bluegrass Standard is a life-long dream of Keith Barnacastle, who grew up in Meridian, Mississippi. For three years, Keith brought the Suits, Boots and Bluegrass Festival to Meridian. Now, with the Bluegrass Standard, Keith’s enthusiasm for the music, and his vision of its future, reaches a nationwide audience every month! Keith@TheBluegrassStandard.com
Richelle Putnam • Managing Journalist Editor
Richelle Putnam is a Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) Teaching Artist/Roster Artist (Literary), a Mississippi Humanities Speaker, and a 2014 MAC Literary Arts Fellowship recipient. Her non-fiction books include Lauderdale County, Mississippi; a Brief History, Legendary Locals of Meridian, Mississippi and Mississippi and the Great Depression. Richelle@TheBluegrassStandard.com
Rebekah Speer • Creative Director
Rebekah Speer has nearly twenty years in the music industry in Nashville, TN. She creates a unique “look” for every issue of The Bluegrass Standard, and enjoys learning about each artist. In addition to her creative work with The Bluegrass Standard, Rebekah also provides graphic design and technical support to a variety of clients.
Shelby C. Berry • Journalist
Shelby Campbell is a writer and designer whose heart beats for creativity. A native of rural Livingston, AL, she found her passion in journalism and design at The University of West Alabama, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications. Shelby also has her own photography business.
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Susan Marquez • Journalist
Susan Marquez is a freelance writer based in Madison, Mississippi and a Mississippi Arts Commission Roster Artist. After a 20+ year career in advertising and marketing, she began a professional writing career in 2001. Since that time she has written over 2000 articles which have been published in magazines, newspapers, business journals, trade publications.
Stephen Pitalo • Journalist
Stephen Pitalo has been an entertainment journalist for more than 30 years, having interviewed everyone from Joey Ramone to Bill Plympton to John Landis. He is the world’s leading authority on the The Golden Age of Music Video (1976-1993), mining inside stories from interviews 70+ music video directors and countless artists of the pre-internet music era. GoldenAgeOfMusicVideo.com
Kara Martinez Bachman • Journalist
Kara Martinez Bachman is an author, editor and journalist. Her music and culture reporting has appeared in dozens of publications and she’s interviewed many performers over the years, from local musicians to well-known celebrities. She’s a native of New Orleans and lives just outside the city with her husband, two kids, and two silly mutts.
Emerald Butler • Journalist
Emerald Butler is a writer, songwriter, fiddler, and entertainer from Sale Creek, TN. She has worked and performed various occasions with artists such as Rhonda Vincent, Bobby Osborn, Becky Buller, Alison Brown, top 40 radio host Bob Kingsley, and country songwriter Roger Alan Wade. With a bachelor’s degree in Music Business and a minor in Marketing, Emerald uses her creative talent to share the love of music with others. Emerald@TheBluegrassStandard.com
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AMANDA SHAW
SUSAN MARQUEZ
AMANDA SHAW IS A LOUISIANA GIRL THROUGH AND THROUGH. RAISED IN THE NEW ORLEANS AREA, SHE GREW UP LISTENING TO AND PLAYING CAJUN MUSIC. “THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT IT THAT SPEAKS TO MY SOUL,” SHE SAYS.
While she may be petite, Amanda fills the stage with her large personality, killer fiddlin’ skills, strong voice, and joie de vivre that is contagious. Amanda Show and The Cute Boys have become a crowd favorite in south Louisiana, where they play a hard-driving, high-energy style of Cajun music. Amanda says she didn’t come from a musical family, yet she always loved music. “From the time I could hum, I was dancing!” At age four, Amanda saw someone playing the violin on television. “I announced that I wanted to do that.” Her supportive parents took her seriously. Southern Louisiana University in Hammond had a wonderful music school. “The head of the department taught me a violin, and she gave me a strong foundation.” In her formative years, Amanda’s mom took the budding musician to area restaurants to hear 8
Cajun bands. “I wanted to learn Cajun music, so I took fiddle lessons with the great fiddle player Mitch Read. He taught me traditional Cajun songs. He would show me a piece and I’d play it back for him while his band was setting up for gigs. I realized from being around Mitch how important it is to be actively involved in that tradition. It is folk music and culture, which is not written down. It is passed
on from musician to musician, generation to generation.” Amanda has become an accomplished songwriter and she enjoys all types of music with a lot of crossover tunes. But her newest LP, Joie, released last year, is her first-ever all traditional Cajun album. “I don’t speak French,” she admits. “I spent a lot of time learning the
lyrics and how to properly sing the songs.” Fans look forward to seeing Amanda play in venues around New Orleans, and at festivals including JazzFest and French Quarter Fest in New Orleans and Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette. “I love that older people recognize and love the songs, while younger people really enjoy the energy of the music.” In addition to being an accomplished fiddler and songwriter, Amanda is also a television writer and producer. “Back in the day, there were variety shows on television with a little something for everyone. I thought New Orleans needed a 1960s-style variety show because we have a variety of people here. It would be a way to bring New Orleans people together.” For five years, Amanda has produced and hosted the Amanda Shaw Cajun Christmas Special on WGNO, the ABC affiliate in New Orleans. “I was so excited to do it the first time, and now here we are, five years later and it is still going strong. We start working on it every year in July.” Amanda says it takes a day to film the music segments, and
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another day to film the skits. “I love working with the people at the TV station. I have fun with it. I have a custom dress made, and the guys in the band all wear matching shirts. We draw inspiration from entertainers like Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner, with sassy songs and quick comedy sketches.” Believing that because she has been given so much, Amanda gives back through the Amanda
and ideas, to help them pursue the things that make them happy. I believe that will help make our community a better place.” The Foundation has established a scholarship fund. Amanda can also add “teacher” to her resume, as she has been teaching a Zoom Master Class. Her Fiddlin Friday Spring Series was an online course where Amanda talks about Cajun music and demonstrates the
“I LOVE THAT OLDER PEOPLE RECOGNIZE AND LOVE THE SONGS, WHILE YOUNGER PEOPLE REALLY ENJOY THE ENERGY OF THE MUSIC.” Shaw Foundation which funds support efforts to build, sustain and empower strong Louisiana families through music, food, and culture. “I know my career wouldn’t be possible without the belief other people have had in me. There are plenty of other talented people out there who just need an opportunity. I want to help people with their dreams 10
basics of playing the fiddle. “That has been a lot of fun,” she says. While COVID-19 forced her to give up playing in person, she is slowly getting back out again and is enjoying the support she has gotten at her live shows this spring. “It means the world to me every time people come to pass a good time with me and the guys at a show.”
L a b o r D ay W e e k e n d
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Music Workshops Galore! Open Mic Night • Beer & Cider Garden Food & Craft Vendors Camping Available: Aug. 31–Sept. 7 (Tues to Tues) i n f o @ n c b f. F u n | w w w. n c b f. f u n | w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / n c b f
The NCBF will be following all applicable governmental pandemic rules and recomendations in effect at the time of the festival and reserves the right to cancel the festival should circumstances warrant it. 11
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The Old Pine Road Band by Emerald Butler
David Walters started The Old Pine Road band back in 2014 with a couple of his northern Wisconsin friends. What started as a fun outlet to whittle away the long winters developed into a full-time job of its own. “We spent years just monkeying around,” David began. “There have been different variations of the band but this new lineup that has been around for the last two years has been the most prominent.” The psychedelic jam grass band is made up of David Walters on vocals, guitar, and banjo, Thor Gunderson on drums and washboard, and Chris Skinner on the unique Chapman stick. The Chapman stick can consist
Road draws listeners in with their version of songs like southern rock anthem Copperhead Road then slides in original pieces with a root’s flair. Country music has also been a big influence on the musicians who say that they grew up listening to it. Then of course during their teenage years, they began getting into more rock and jam-based bands like The Grateful Dead. However, David credits his bluegrass influence on the northern Wisconsin community. Thor, on the other hand, has a little bit deeper foundation playing in bluegrass. He has played with another prominent Wisconsin-based bluegrass band, Dig Deep.
engineer, the drummer also happens to be a hunting and fishing guide for visitors to the northern Wisconsin wilderness. He has inherited his family’s fishing supply shop and is working on getting that running again after the pandemic. Again, if you’re looking for a northern Wisconsin getaway in a wilderness of wildlife and music, The Old Pine Road has got the connections you need. Throughout the various jobs, bookings, and we can’t forget a pandemic, The Old Pine Road has managed to record a new original album they hope to release later this fall. The boys said that they meticulously played and recorded
of 10 or 12 strings, and it comes from the guitar family that usually takes up the bass lines. Before we go any further, we should answer the question that everyone asks. Yes, Thor is the real name of the guy on drums. Perhaps Gunderson and the Norse god of thunder have a lot in common. Already the band has a few unique features that help them stand out from your typical jam grass band. “Typical” is the last word to describe The Old Pine Road. They can’t be put into a single box or genre, nor do they want to be. The band says that they play a blend of soulful funk grass with a taste of twang and jam band experimentation. The Old Pine
“We like to blend a lot of different things together,” David admitted. “I think just having all those different backgrounds and exposers melded itself into what we do. When people ask us what we play at shows it’s hard to respond because we play a little bit of everything.” This eclectic repertoire helped keep the band busy. David especially can pay his bills with his creative talents. He shared that there is a healthy tourist and tavern scene in northern Wisconsin that enabled him to do this. He happens to be a wedding planner as well. If you’re dreaming of a Wisconsin wedding, David is your man. Although Thor is a professional
every part on their own. They didn’t want to give away too many details because they like to keep the surprise factor. However, the band shared a couple of tracks to give us a little taste. Their track “Summer Sun” rises with Gypsy-like essence. The combination of banjo and Chapman stick give the song that mystic flair as David on vocals takes listeners on a journey through summer. “When All Is Said And Done” has more of that folk jam and driving banjo that makes you want to get out your clogging shoes and dance. And what better earth is there to dance on than that Old Pine Road? 13
Rhonda Vincent by Susan Marquez
She is known as “The Queen of Bluegrass,” and it’s a title the multi-award-winning performer Rhonda Vincent has rightfully earned. The Missouri native is an accomplished bluegrass singer, songwriter, and multiinstrumentalist whose career has spanned four decades, more if you count her childhood. “I learned to sing when I was three,” Rhonda says. “I was on radio and television by the time I was five years old.” Rhonda grew up around music. For five generations, her family entertained themselves and their community in the Ozark Mountain town of Greentop, Missouri, where Rhonda still lives. “There was a jam session every day at my grandparents’ house. I thought that was perfectly normal, and that everyone’s family was doing the same thing.” Instead, it was the kind of on-the-job training that would catapult Rhonda into the bluegrass stratosphere. Rhonda started playing 14
with The Sally Mountain Show, the stage name for the Vincent family’s bluegrass band that included her parents, Johnny and Carolyn Vincent, brothers Darrin and Brian, as well as aunts, uncles, and cousins. The band had a TV show when Rhonda was just five years old, and they performed at some very prestigious venues including the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and the Lincoln Center in New York. “We were performing at the Grand Ole Opry when Garth Brooks made his debut performance there,” Rhonda recalls. The date was June 24, 1989, and Garth sang Tomorrow Never Comes. Rhonda says the audience went wild. “It was like watching history being made. Reba McIntire was also on the stage that night. I felt so honored to be there.” The Grand Ole Opry has always been a special place for Rhonda. On February 28, 2020, she was singing a song at the Opry written by Jeannie Seely. “When I finished singing, Jeannie
came out and asked me when I would get my next album finished. I said, ‘when you write me some more songs.’ Then asked if I’d like to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry. I thought I was hearing things. That’s something I’ve always dreamed of.” Of course, the COVID pandemic hit soon after that, and Rhonda was forced to wait 343 days, until February 6, 2021, to be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. “It was such a thrill for me.” Rhonda’s brother, Darrin, is an Opry member as well. “We are the first brother and sister to be inducted. There are just over 200 acts that have ever been a member. To have two people, a brother and sister at that, from such a small town as Greentop is a really big deal!” Darrin is half of the awardwinning duo Dailey and Vincent with Jamie Dailey. It only makes sense that Rhonda’s upcoming project with her band, The Rage, is Opry-themed. “Everything on it ties back to the Grand Ole Opry one way or another,” she says. The album,
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titled Music is What I See has enjoyed a great response. What Ain’t To Be Just Might Happen is a song written by Porter Wagoner. The song was first recorded in 1972. “I heard it on WSM and thought it would make a great bluegrass song. The lyrics are so relevant to everything going on in the world, from the pandemic to politics. I like it because it showcases our band, which is fantastic. I wanted songs that were hard-driving bluegrass.” Listeners can’t help but feel happy when listening to the upbeat tune. The album also features several new songs, as well as classics that tie into the Opry thread,
including Slowly, by Webb Pierce. “It also has the first bluegrass recording of Unchained Melody,” Rhonda says. The song has been recorded by several artists, most notably The Righteous Brothers’ version, recorded in 1965. The song was a challenging one for Rhonda. “It took twelve hours of recording to get it right.” One of Rhonda’s most requested songs is on the album as well. “We do I Ain’t Been Nowhere, a parody of Hank Snow’s I’ve Been Everywhere. The song has seven sections with 392 words, which is a lot for a song. It must be sung very fast. It’s really fun and always brings a smile.” The album wraps up with two Gospel
tunes, You Don’t Love God if You Don’t Know Your Neighbor, and the Isaacs join in with There’s a Record Book. “They are one of my favorite bands, so I’m really excited about that track.” Still close to her mother, Carolyn, Rhonda says most people know her mom as a wonderful entertainer. “People outside our area probably don’t know my mom was an EMT for 30 years. She is also a beautician who once had five different shops. She’s never been one to sit at home at watch TV. She is a workaholic. She is also a very giving person. I’m who I am today because of her.”
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Carolyn Vincent
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A melodious seed was planted within Carolyn Vincent when she was a teen, nurtured by her chorus classes every year in high school. That seed grew into her boundless love for harmony which later branched into a family tree of musical geniuses and legends. The branches include her three children, Rhonda, Darrin, and Brian, who grew up performing in their family band, The Sally Mountain Show. Two of the three, Rhonda and Darrin, later blossomed into Grand Ole Opry inductees and Grammy recipients.
along, the music didn’t stop; it branched out mightily … becoming stronger, grander, steadfast, and perpetual. “Rhonda was small. We were going to a friend’s house one day and she was sitting in the car seat and singing Happy Birthday. It wasn’t anybody’s birthday, we were just singing, and Rhonda sang harmony with us. It’s just always been her thing. She could always sing.”
The family band played around where they lived and, when Rhonda was little, they were Carolyn, however, didn’t grow up regulars on the country show, around music. Her dad played Frontier Jamboree. The Vincents guitar while he was in service, but also had a morning show, The “he didn’t really play much there Sally Mountain Show, when at home,” said Carolyn. Johnny Rhonda was around five years Vincent changed all that. “He old. “Rhonda got to play on our was a musician and he and his show. She played drums and family played. His grandpa was a she’d sing. She was kind of a little fiddler and his uncles all played showpiece,” said Carolyn. Then, and they had a band called the along comes little brother Darrin Lazy River Boys and a radio show who “never had to practice and on Saturday evenings.” Carolyn could sing like it was born in listened to them all the time, him. He could just pick up an every week, giving a close ear to instrument and play it,” said the harmony. Carolyn. The youngest, Brian, sang and played guitar and Johnny brought Carolyn into his mandolin. Vincent family by marriage, and, like any good bluegrass family In those early days, Carolyn would do, they taught her to earned the name Double play bass. “We were a trio for a Clutching Mama. She first told long time, Johnny, his dad, and the story on Family Reunion, me. That’s before the kids came “about how we got the bus off Jim along.” and Jesse. I said I had hardly ever been in one, much less drive one. But when the kids did come Jesse took me up the road about
a quarter of a mile and had me drive it back.” Carolyn mentioned having to “double-clutch” and the name stuck. “When we got Jim & Jesse’s bus, I was the only one who could drive it. Darrin wasn’t old enough to drive.” Bluegrass seemed to center and grow around the Vincent tree. In 1986, Johnny bought 63 acres in Queen City, Missouri, and hosted the first Sally Mountain bluegrass festival. “We were all based around the area called Sally Mountain,” said Carolyn. “A lady, Sally Mosley, lived up the hill, which was the highpoint in the area, and the river ran down below. She used to make homebrew and had dances and played the fiddle.” According to Carolyn, Sally Mosley originated the song “Sally Goodin” and no one has ever disputed it. “Her name is on the books up at the courthouse where she owned that land,” she added. Johnny Vincent enjoyed many years of the homegrown festival before his passing on October 5, 2014. The festival would have celebrated its 35th year this year, but with the kids grown now and no longer close to home, Carolyn is selling Sally Mountain Park. She said it takes around 12 hours to mow the 12 or so acres. Even with help, it’s too much work for Carolyn. 19
Still, the Vincent tree remains stalwart and hearty due to each member’s devoted attention to the roots from which they sprouted.
recorded by Rhonda.
The Vincent kids are grown now, but childlike mischief shows up now and then, like on Carolyn’s 70th birthday. Rhonda had a “Rhonda always includes me and plan. It included her fans, but not her mom, who she blocked on wants me to go on the cruises with her. I have been on, I think, Facebook … for good reason. 25 cruises. And Darrin had some “She called me that morning and told me to take a picture of the cruises and I went with of everybody who came in the him. He’s always included me, too. They’ve always been close to shop that day,” said Carolyn. I couldn’t figure out what she was me.” wanting me to do that for. Then she called and told me to go to Although Brian didn’t take the the post office before they closed. professional musician route, So, I went up there, and when choosing instead accounting in the corporate world and working I walked in, here he came with these Walmart bags with over 400 his way up to Vice President of cards. He had been holding them. Bimeda Animal Health, he is He carried them out to the car for a “musically inclined” Vincent me because I couldn’t even carry devoted to his family. He cothe sacks, they were so full.” wrote the song, “Midnight The UPS guy also showed up Angel,” (Bobby Osborne, Pete Goble, Brian Vincent), which was at Carolyn’s shop, telling her he had been texted, called, and everything else on the package he was delivering, and he wanted to be sure Carolyn got it.
Rolex! “It’s quite the thing. I never thought I’d ever have one,” said Carolyn. Today, Carolyn plans to keep following the kids and to travel. Last year was South Dakota, North Dakota, and other places, and this year it’s Yellowstone National Park. And of course, she’ll go to the festivals where her kids are performing. Once a mom …always a mom … especially in bluegrass.
A FEW MORE THINGS ABOUT CAROLYN: OTHER NICKNAME: Pie Lady. “At the festival, I always made a bunch of the pies. You can’t buy a gooseberry pie anywhere. So, I made about 30 gooseberry pies and that was my biggest seller.” A gooseberry is a small round green tart berry. Once picked, Carolyn explained, you must steam them. She also made raisin pies and pecan pies, which amounted to over 100 “The minister was here talking pies for the festival. “We’d start to my husband. I opened it up in January or February making and said, ‘Oh, this is a beautiful the pies and then freezing them. watch,’ and I didn’t pay much Rhonda didn’t touch a raisin or attention. I started putting it back a gooseberry. “She was more the in the paper.” cherry pie type.” Rhonda had mailed the package from Nashville. At the UPS office, in order to insure the package, she had to reveal the contents. That worried her because it wasn’t just any watch. It was a
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FAVORITE SONG TO PERFORM WITH KIDS: Probably “Slippers with Wings” is my most favorite song to do with Rhonda and Darrin. The song came from the Lewis Family. I
got it from them a long time ago. But that’s been my most requested song, as well as P-I-G (kind of like the D-I-V-O-R-C-E song). COVID-19 - After being exposed, Carolyn came down with COVID-19, but thankfully received an infusion treatment and made it through the lifethreatening virus.
SOMETHING ABOUT RHONDA THAT HER FANS MAY NOT KNOW: Rhonda sleeps with an eye mask because she sleeps with her eyes open! (If any of Rhonda’s fans already knew that, let us know.)
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SHELBY C. BERRY
PEARLGRACE
THE POWER OF MUSIC: HOW FAITH & SONG BROUGHT PEARLGRACE’S SAMANTHA WILLIAMSON THROUGH A SERIOUS ILLNESS & BEYOND “Persistent” is one word that describes 20-yearold bluegrass musician, Samantha Williamson, who, despite having serious health struggles, placed second in the KSMU Youth in Bluegrass Competition this May alongside her band Pearlgrace & Co.
performing music. She was also informed there was a very real possibility that her voice could be different postsurgery.
In October, the surgery day “I really didn’t know what arrived. The Williamsons that would be like for me,” loaded up and took Samantha said Samantha. “God to the hospital. Although she suffered complications in surgery, she never lost sight of her love for music holding hands with her fellow Pearlgrace bandmate and mom, Jill, during the tough moments and just singing what was on her heart.
Last June, after spells of headaches, tiredness, and the loss of her peripheral v i s i o n , Samantha found out that she had a pituitary brain tumor that had been affecting her health for years. When Samantha tells the story, she talks about how music and her faith are really what brought her through this extremely scary and life- definitely used my music to help me through it. When we changing experience. scheduled the surgery, I felt Before surgery, the Williamson the urgency to record songs family shifted focus to I’d been writing and to finish Samantha’s health, backing writing others. During one of away from practicing and my MRIs, I actually worked out 22
the lyrics to a song just lying there. God blessed me in that way. I thought about what was on my heart.”
People often fall back on their favorite songs during a moment of crisis – a soothing tune or a well-written lyric can be the perfect remedy for pain or fear. For Samantha, that song was This Is My Father’s World. “On the last day I was in the
hospital, I felt good enough to play my guitar a bit and sing that song for some of my nurses. There were so many blessings looking back. During some of the hardest parts, I can see what God was doing. For me, when I’m looking back, I see what he’s done so clearly,” said Samantha.
to string instruments until later in life when some families in our church were classically trained on violins,” said Samantha.
Jill dreamed of creating a family band with her kids, and after selling some of their belongings on eBay to fund the purchase of violins, they began taking Only eight weeks later, Samantha lessons intently for years before was able to sing and play a song finding contest fiddling. for her older brother’s wedding. After the wedding, Pearlgrace “40 miles away from our took a break from performing to hometown lived iconic fiddler give Samantha the time she needed to make a full recovery, and they came back better than ever. The first performance that Pearlgrace did in over six months was the KSMU Youth in Bluegrass Competition, where they won second place. A large Oklahoma family, the Williamsons started their musical journey, at least professionally, in 2014 as The Williamson Family Band, but before that, music was intertwined in their lives in every aspect.
Byron Berline, and he would mentor the girls, tell stories about playing and touring with Bill Monroe, and showed them their first real experience playing “I think we were born into a family bluegrass music,” said Jill. of people who play. We grew up in church, and we were always The Williamsons moved to China singing there and at home. Our for a bit in 2015, changing the mom always loved music her dynamic of the band with the loss whole life but she wasn’t exposed of a few of Samantha’s siblings
who stayed in the US. Now with just three band members, Jill, Samantha, and her younger sister Grace, a new band name was necessary. “We settled on Pearlgrace & Co.,” said Samantha. “Pearls are beautiful and represent the femininity, purity, and simplicity of our band. It represents our attitude and what we want to be. Grace represents the grace of God through Jesus.” It was during this time that Pearlgrace began crafting the sound that had become so uniquely them. “There’s a certain beauty and technique to classical music,” said Samantha of how they incorporate their musical background into their bluegrass sound. “Clarity, precision, and beauty from classical music are what we bring to our current music. We are everchanging, but we are mostly bluegrass, gospel, classical, and roots. We even do some oldschool gospel with a classical feel,” she said. Now with Jill’s youngest and the newest addition to the band, Elizabeth, in tow as the upright bass player, Pearlgrace has 23
turned their focus to praising God with their music in the wake of Samantha’s illness. “The main drive of our music is to praise God with our lives. He gave us a gift of music, and we want to pursue that,” said Samantha. “It’s to praise and worship God and to tell others the gospel. Music can help you through anything. There are mourning songs and dancing songs. It is a neat way to express life. It’s like another language. We tell stories to express life through our music. It brings a lot of value to peoples’ lives. It’s neat to do something you enjoy like that that you can share with other people. I love seeing that it blesses them or reminded them that God sees them where they are. Our music is with people and for people.” That topic - using faith in their music - seems to be very important to Pearlgrace as a band, especially Samantha, and rightfully so. “For us, our hope is that our music plays a part in our faith. Our faith comes first. It’s a part of expressing thanks to Him and enjoying who He is. In the future, we hope to get out and share more and be more mobile. We may even get an RV! We’d love to see what happens and what the Lord may do with a ministry like that,” said Samantha. “Our heart is to encourage other Christians and bring others to come to know Jesus. And bluegrass is a wonderful platform 24
and outlet for faith. Bluegrass is just a part of sharing the joy of faith. The bluegrass community is just so welcoming and kind. There’s nothing like it.” While humble to her core and an open book when it comes to her faith and the struggles life has thrown her way, Samantha is a force to be reckoned with. She has thought a lot about what she has gone through, the plans for her family’s future in music, and how much her faith plays into all of that as she moves forward. “I’m just thankful to be alive, and to sing is such a huge gift. One year ago, I wondered if I would ever be back to normal. I’m just super thankful. Each day is a gift.”
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THE HIGH WATER LINE GOES WITH THE FLOW by Kara Martinez Bachman
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dropped its first album, titled Introducing the High Water Line. Performing on that release were Stegall (banjo, vocals, harmonies); Clare Armenante (fiddle, vocals, harmonies); TJ Carskadon (mandolin, vocals, harmonies); Joel Cofield (guitar, vocals, harmonies); and Jim Toggweiler (electric bass, vocals, harmonies).
Hailing from the San Francisco Bay area, The High Water Line has made waves in the local music scene and hopes to keep on rolling, whether the tide is low or high. The tide has of course been low recently, as it has been for most musicians. The pandemic saw to that. Just before, however, the
high points were real and quite fulfilling.
Just as things were taking off, COVID-19 hit and had the same effect it had on most bluegrass musicians; things came to a semi-halt. Stegall said he and his bandmates used the “downtime” wisely, continuing to rehearse outdoors while socially distanced from each other. He said they wrote lots of new material over this period of the shutdowns. Many are instrumental pieces.
“2019 was a great year for us,” explained the group’s banjo player, Tyler Stegall. The High Water Line was performing often; was selected as a showcase band at a prominent festival hosted by the California They recently had the Bluegrass Association; and opportunity to perform virtually
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at a legendary venue of the as much-hailed Colorado West Coast, Berkeley’s Freight bluegrass outfit, Wood Belly. and Salvage. “Right now, we’re just focused “Freight and Salvage asked us on trying to get back into the if we wanted to take part in a groove,” Stegall said. By all Livestreaming event they were appearances, it seems they doing, Freight Fest Online,” won’t have a difficult time Stegall explained. “It was an getting things flowing once awesome opportunity. We again. were actually able to record a bunch of new material at this Although most don’t think gig. We liked the festival a lot of bluegrass as a “California because every band was from thing,” Stegall said care must a completely different world be taken to understand that of roots or folk.” He hopes to this indigenous genre is not perform again with Freight and necessarily the strict property of Salvage sometime soon. Appalachia but is owned by us all. The band has also appeared recently at private events and “There’s no doubt about it, venues such as Hop Dogma the unique set of influences Brewery in Half Moon Bay. that make up bluegrass music Those wanting to catch them are very American,” he said. live in San Francisco should mark “Bluegrass is for everyone. With calendars for a gig happening all really great things -- with all August 4 at Amado’s, where things that really move people -they’ll perform the same night it grows, and it spreads.”
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While the band has high hopes for the music scene gaining strength again as the lockdowns fade, whatever the future may bring, the true appeal of what The High Water Line does is very personal. In a way, it’s as much about the selfish joy of making music together as it’s about gigging and pleasing an audience. The thing is, picking and strumming simply pleases THEM. “For us, the most rewarding part of this project is playing with each other,” Stegall said. This was a vital part of making it through this year of hardship, and amongst it all, there were lessons learned. “What it has kind of shown me is that there’s always going to be a new hill to climb,” he said, “and I’d climb that mountain a thousand times over.”
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FAN PHOTOS
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