Song:Banjo Pickin' Girl
Album:Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet
Bluegrass fans will go bonkers for female banjo whiz Abigail Washburn and this group she formed for a 2006 tour of China featuring future husband and fellow banjo whiz Bela Fleck. Abigail was born Nov. 10, 1977 in Evanston, IL and she grew up in Washington, DC and Minnesota. She sang but was not serious about music. She planned to become a lawyer. She became obsessed with Chinese culture after a 1996 trip to China and majored in Chinese culture at Colorado College. She bought a banjo and studied bluegrass and folk music. Eventually she moved to Nashville and joined the all girl bluegrass group Uncle Earl led by mandolin player KC Groves. Uncle Earl recorded several albums for Rounder Records and though the lineup has changed several times, they are still around. Abigail remained with Uncle Earl until 2005. Meanwhile, she won a songwriting contest and signed as a solo artist with Nettwerk Records. She also got the attention of Bela Fleck and he produced her 2005 CD Song of the Traveling Daughter. Then they formed the Sparrow Quartet with cellist Ben Sollee and fiddle player Casey Driessen. They went on a US Government sponsored tour of China and released an EP. Then they released a full length CD in 2008 and toured the US. It's a great album and bluegrass fans should check it out. The relationship between Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck had been rumoured for a couple of years. In 2010, she confirmed they married in 2009 and jokingly promised a male heir who would become the Holy Banjo Emperor. Their son Juno Fleck was born in 2013. I'm sure he will play the banjo. Abigail's second solo CD City Of Refuge was released in 2011. And last year she produced and wrote a theatrical production of Post-American Girl in New York. Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck are beginning a tour in March. Be sure to check them out if they are headed your way. Here's Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet performing A Kazakh Melody and Banjo Pickin' Girl in Woodstock, NY. This video is not on Youtube.
"A Kazahk Melody/Banjo Pickin' Girl" By: Abby Washburn with Bela Fleck and the Sparrow Quartet from The Banjo Project on Vimeo.
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