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Abigail Washburn
Abigail Washburn
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The rustic, poignant,and wide-ranging sounds of singer/songwriter and banjo player Abigail Washburn appear so genuine and natural, they must come from a person who grew up surrounded by folk and bluegrass. The way Washburn came to this music is much more complicated, however, as it involves China, lost banjos, and the rock group Collective Soul. Although Washburn grew up singing, she had no longing to become a professional musician, and part-time gigs singing backup in reggae, gospel, and R&B bands were nothing more than fun activities. But a trip to China in 1996 changed all that. Picking up the native language faster than she imagined and falling in love with Chinese culture began to change the young Washburn's priorities. Reconsidering the culture of her own homeland, Washburn bought a banjo and decided to explore the rich heritage of folk and bluegrass music. Mastery of the instrument didn't happen right away, and fans of Washburn's banjo style might be shocked to learn she went years without even touching the instrument she had bought. Later, she was living in Vermont and working as an activist when her good friends the Cleary Brothers lost their banjo player after scheduling a tour of Alaska. Blowing the dust off her banjo, Washburn began a crash course in playing the instrument, joined the Cleary Brothers, and was soon off on her first tour.

Performing in front of an audience fit like a glove, and soon Washburn was assuming lead vocals as well. With the tour completed, Nashville was the budding musician's next stop. While living there, she continued her banjo studies and began to write songs. In 2004, she met Jing Li Jurca, who would help her write her first song in Chinese, as well as K.C. Groves, a founding member of the old-timey string band Uncle Earl. Washburn joined the second incarnation of Uncle Earl and appeared on the band's 2005 album, She Waits for Night. Keeping her solo options open, Washburn then entered her song "Rockabye Dixie" into the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at MerleFest. The tune took second place and attracted the attention of Nettwerk Records. After signing with the label, Washburn played a mini-tour of China before returning home to record her debut with such accomplished musicians as Béla Fleck, Jordan McConnell of the Duhks, and Ryan Hoyle of Collective Soul. The resulting Song of the Traveling Daughter appeared in 2005, and Washburn returned to the Asian continent to tour as part of the Sparrow Quartet (which also comprised Fleck, fiddle virtuoso Casey Driessen, and cellist Ben Sollee). The U.S. government sponsored the tour, making Washburn the first musical artist to receive such an honor. The Sparrow Quartet joined her on the trip, and the group explored a blend of eastern and western folk traditions on their 2008 effort, Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet. ~ David Jeffries, All Music GuideMore

Official Profile

Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet
Abigail Washburn never set out to be a songwriter or a recording artist. So when she found herself o...
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Fan Comments

Jun 1st, 11:39pm Last edited Jun 1st, 11:40pm.


TERRY'S BLOG

http://nettwerk.com/terrysblog/

Terry McBride's Blog
Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Lilith Fair
It's so exciting to see such an amazing reaction to Lilith's return in 2010. We are busy internally pulling the development team together. Marty and I are also seeing a lot of artists reaching out with their interest in being involved. To that end, I think a great place to go to research or even suggest music is a site I checked out:

http://www.imeem.com/groups/wLYSHgzG,lilith/
Sep 8th, 11:58am
hello...

how are you?

....
Aug 30th, 2:45am
was wondering if you were able to sing at the olympics? or go to watch? Just love your music, dear. Luv, Junko



















Aug 24th, 5:01am
Fascinating....Ethan -
Jul 19th, 5:56am
read about you in Newsweek. Amazing and wonderful music. shie shie!
Jul 15th, 1:04pm
thanks for the request, wish i could come here more often but m lookin forward to listen to all ya music
Jun 20th, 3:15am
I finally got an opportunity to finish listening to all of your music. I am so impressed and thoroughly enjoyed listening. Thank you for sharing yourself with us.