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 Abigail Washburn's Profile |
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MAY 20 - OUR NEW CD COMES YOUR WAY. |
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| Location: | Nashville, TENNESSEE |
| Country: |  United States |
| Last Login: | Jun 21, 2008 (526 days back) |
About Me |
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Werkshop | Mp3Block.com | Amazon | iTunes Werkshop | Mp3Block.com | Amazon | iTunes Abigail Washburn never set out to be a songwriter or a recording artist. So when she found herself on stage in a smoke filled Beijing club playing her banjo and singing old time Appalachian mountain music in Chinese to a packed house, she was as surprised as anyone. “During my Freshman year at Colorado College, I joined a summer program trip to China,” Washburn recalled. “It had a profound effect on me. I discovered a Chinese culture that was so deep and ancient; it changed my perspective on America.” On her return to the States, Washburn began to explore American culture, a journey that led her back to her native country’s traditional roots. When she heard Doc Watson playing “Shady Grove” on the banjo, something clicked and the connection that eventually led to Song of the Traveling Daughter was made. On Song of the Traveling Daughter, Washburn sings simple haunting songs and plays the banjo. Musically, the album is one of the most bare bones debuts in recent memory. Washburn and fellow producers Reid Scelza and Bela Fleck keep the focus where it belongs: on the singer and the song. The arrangements were built around Washburn’s evocative vocals and clawhammer banjo style, and Ben Sollee’s cello, an instrument that brings a dark, primeval feel to songs that sound like they’re hundreds of years old. The sparse instrumental work of guitarist Jordan McConnell (of The Duhks), upright bass player Amanda Kowalski, fiddler Casey Driessen, percussionist Ryan Hoyle (of Collective Soul), keyboard and accordion player Tim Lauer, along with Fleck’s national steel guitar and banjo, add subtle grace notes to Washburn’s timeless tales. Song of the Traveling Daughter is an old fashioned album with a simple, textured beauty that unfolds with repeated listening. There’s a flow to the music that draws you in and immerses you in Washburn’s unique worldview. While the album is studded with gems, several tracks stand out. “Rockabye Dixie” is a brokenhearted lullaby full of loss and longing, co-written by Beau Stapleton of Blue Merle. “Coffee’s Cold” is a jaunty ragtime blues, with a bouncy bass line and exuberant vocal delivery. “Eve Stole the Apple” is the most atypical tune on the album, full of odd rhythmic accents. Part field hollar, part old English folk song; the tune is marked by an impressionist lyric that blends Biblical and folkloric images. “Deep in the Night” is a poetic exploration of darkness that features one of Washburn’s most stirring vocals and the accents of Tim Lauer’s accordion. “Song of the Traveling Daughter,” one of Washburn’s Chinese songs, and another album highlight, was inspired by the classical Chinese poem “Song of the Traveling Son.” “It’s actually harder to put English words to music than Chinese,” Washburn explained. “Chinese is all one or two syllable words and most have open vowels at the end of the word, so the language almost sings by itself. If it has a closed sound it’s usually something soft like ‘teng’ or ‘mang.’ If you listen closely to ‘Song of the Traveling Daughter,’ you can hear how easy it is to put them to music.” Although she’s been singing all her life, Washburn never had her heart set on a musical career. Her songwriting, performing and recording career came about after an unlikely series of serendipitous events. “I always loved to sing. In college I was in an all-woman’s a cappella group and realized I had a pretty good voice.” Washburn sang backup in soul and reggae bands and joined an African-American Gospel choir, but never thought about a musical career. In 1996 she joined a summer program in China. “During my first week at Fudan University in Shanghai, I found out I was absorbing the language quickly, which was a surprise.” On Washburn’s second 6 month stint in China she stayed in Chengdu, Sichuan, and fell in love with Chinese culture; at times she found herself wondering what American culture had to offer the world. Once back in the States, she developed a new desire to explore her own culture and traditional roots. She bought a banjo and carried it around without touching it for years. "It was 2002, I was living in Vermont working as a lobbyist when my good friends, the Cleary Brothers old-time string band, lost their banjo player after setting up a tour of Alaska. I got a crash course in banjo and joined the band for the tour." Washburn sang lead, harmony, and played the banjo, and discovered a love for live performance. After the tour, Washburn took a roadtrip to Nashville. Along the way she stopped at a bluegrass conference (IBMA) in Louisville, KY where she met young American roots musicians making a career at playing music. "I realized then and there that I might be one of them… I might be able to live a musical lifestyle, help preserve an American tradition and actually make a living at it." Within weeks, Abby settled in Nashville and began writing songs and learning more about the tradition of old-time banjo. In the winter of 2004, everything happened at once. Unwilling to give up her passion for the Chinese culture and her desire to continue studying the language, Abby took a day job which involved translating Chinese business documents, and where she met Jing Li Jurca. Jing Li helped Washburn with her first attempt at writing a Chinese song, and began co-writing from there. Soon after, Washburn met the women of the old-time string band Uncle Earl and joined the group; their debut album will be released later this year on Rounder. She entered the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at MerleFest and won second place for “Rockabye Dixie.” Nettwerk Records A&R met her in a coffee shop, prompted her to finish a demo and within months signed her to a recording contract. Fall of 2004 she merged her love of China with her new career in American roots music by arranging a small group of good friends and bluegrass pros for a mini-tour of China. “I did ten days with the band and a couple of solo dates,” Washburn said. “The audience was mostly Chinese at the Universities and mainly ex-pats at the bars. We played American folk songs, and original material in both Chinese and English, and it seemed to go over well. At this point, I’m caught between two cultures, but I like being a bridge. I want to keep going to China and living a creative existence. I want to learn more about Chinese folk traditions, so I can integrate them into my music and continue to be a part of the development of a more universal language.” |
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My Interests |
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Music:Member Since: 6/22/2005Band Website: www.abigailwashburn.com " abigailwashburn.com Band Members: See Abby and the Sparrow Quartet at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival 2008 in Manchester, Tennessee, June 12-15! See Abby and the boys play at the Bonnaroo Music Festival's 2008 installment, featuring such acts as Metallica, Kanye West, Pearl Jam, Jack Johnson, Phil Lesh and Friends, Willie Nelson, MIA, Ghostland Observatory and more! Go to Bonnaroo.com for more information. ------------------------------- See Abigail on CBS News! CBS News does a little segment called "Letters from Asia," and in a recent installment they featured Abigail for her work with Appalachian Music and Chinese lyrics! Check it out here . --------------------------------- Abigail Washburn The Sparrow Quartet Bela Fleck, Abigail Washburn, Ben Sollee, Casey Driessen Uncle Earl Abigail Washburn, Kristin Andreassen, KC Groves, Rayna Gellert Albums featuring Abigail Washburn: Influences: SIGN UP FOR ABIGAIL'S EMAIL LIST! I am 13 years old or older. Email Address: Name: birthdate: City: State/Province: country: zip: Gender: male female Sounds Like: Abigail in the Los Angeles Times! LA Times blogger Kevin Bronson sang Abigail's praises in a recent installment of the paper's popular Buzz Bands segment. To read the story, click here . ----------------------------------------------- The Sparrow Quartet in Shanghai Abigail playing in Shanghai, China, with her not-so-low-key side project, The Sparrow Quartet. The group features Casey Driessen, Ben Sollee, and the not-so-shabby side banjo work of Bela Fleck. Enjoy! ----------------------------------------------- Record Label: Nettwerk America Type of Label: Indie |
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My Background and Lifestyle |
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| Occupation: | Music Artist (Bluegrass / Folk Rock) |
My Pictures |
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My Blog |
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Asheville |
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| Written 4/18/08 Yesterday was a good day. It started with a 10am visit to our little friend Quincey's Asheville montessori preschool. Bela and I played double banjos to a room full of ... Posted by Abigail Washburn on Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:00:00 PST |
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On the road |
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It's finally here! Our new record, Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet, has arrived and is available all over the place, including Amazon.com, iTunes, and The Connextion. The fi... Posted by Abigail Washburn on Mon, 19 May 2008 12:20:00 PST |
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OUR NEW CD ON I-TUNES NOW! |
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| Just a quick note- even though our CD comes out May 20, one can go download it now via I-tunes. Today is the digital release for Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet!! Why wait?Our next round of s... Posted by Abigail Washburn on Tue, 06 May 2008 11:38:00 PST |
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DATES & UNCLE EARL VIDEO |
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| Uncle Earl Video is up for CMT award-- but we need your help.http://...com/2tc583ALSO- See our shows calendar for more info- but this week the Sparrow Quartet is out on the road.MAY 1 HUNTSVILLE, AL... Posted by Abigail Washburn on Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:37:00 PST |
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A Fuller Wine- for you! |
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| Check it out- a new cut from our upcoming May 20 release, Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet. Hope you enjoy.In other news- we'll be at E-town in Boulder, CO at the Boulder Theater on April 24. ... Posted by Abigail Washburn on Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:53:00 PST |
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Band on the run! Sparrow Quartet on the road |
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| ON THE ROAD! The Sparrow Quartet (me, Bla Fleck, Ben Sollee, Casey Driessen) recently had our second public performance at SXSW music festival in Austin. The dreamy atmosphere of St David’s Chu... Posted by Abigail Washburn on Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:16:00 PST |
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SXSW blog and pics, whoo! |
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| SXSW BLOGHey everybody,Just back from South By Southwest. It was hot, sunny and music was coming out of every doorway and street corner. The unofficial report was that 2000 performers showed up in A... Posted by Abigail Washburn on Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:18:00 PST |
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Sparrow Quartet is playing SXSW dates! |
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| Hello all!The last time I was in Texas, Bela Fleck, Ben Sollee and I played a string of shows with our dear friend from Wimberly, Sarah Jarosz, over a year and a half ago. We played Austin, San Antoni... Posted by Abigail Washburn on Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:26:00 PST |
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New Uncle Earl Video!!!! |
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| Hello from the UK! I'm headed home tomorrow after almost a month of touring with Uncle Earl in the UK and Netherlands. But today is a big day because it is the official release of our first ever music... Posted by Abigail Washburn on Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:54:00 PST |
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Back in China! |
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| Touched down in China today, hanging out with mybuddies Jon Campbell (www.ygtwo.com) and Weiwei andwalking the streets of Jaiodaokou once again. I'm playing two official shows while I'm in Beijing and... Posted by Abigail Washburn on Thu, 20 Sep 2007 08:20:00 PST |
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My Friends |
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Uncle Earl, ben sollee, The Duhks, Carrie Rodriguez, Mary B, Arthur Lee Land, Chiaretta, Jacy Dawn, Gesch et les Otakus, Gabrielle Maren, pianolla feat. -> ann.., The Shire, Kenny Snow, RONA, Brian, W.F.W, Martha, BANJO EXPRESS RADIO SHOW, The Avett Brothers, Wu Fei, Crooked Still, Lady V, Elizabeth wishes she was out climbing trees, Tom Krueger, Sarah Jarosz, Terje Kinn, Cara, Michelle Allen & Little Liza Jane, mike haszko, Carrie Cahill Mulligan, Bei Bei, Erin Youngberg, Dan Gellert, Balfa Toujours, Foghorn Stringband, Kate Noson, Donnie, James, Hugo, michael, Art in DC, MARCO GIROLAMI Photographer, Sweet Hollywaiians, Jo Serrapere, Amanda, bartshine daydream, Kimmi, SoupyGato's Fifth Listener, andee, Tim, Native Gypsy, John's Photography, Daniel Glen Timms, Froggy Dawn, MR. JELLY MAYO, K-Byrd, Jewels of the Lotus, DUAL BLUES, Laurie, Ron's Space, Dunham Van Durham, Viviana Ramírez, Twig&Twine w/ Jute on the Jug, Mike Barker, beth, The Earl Brothers, Sometymes Why, Kevin, Big Love Live Music, Rod, Tribute to Gospel, Tejano, Country Music, Uncle Dave Macon Days, July 11-13 2008,, Mom, ed's van, Imperial Margarine, Melissa, The Jason Reeves Band, David-Slippery Rock ~~~ Profunda-Rock, Allen Thompson, rita, Tory Gallery
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Tags |
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Abigail Washburn's profile has been tagged with the following keywords. Click a tag to search for profiles with the same tags. appalachian mountain music, abigail washburn, national steel guitar, casey driessen, banjo style, bela fleck, accordion player, fellow producers, ben sollee, traditional roots, doc watson, werkshop, singer and the song, amazon, haunting songs, way music, duhks, freshman year, instrumental work, timeless tales |
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