Abigail Washburn featuring Bela Fleck and Ben Sollee

Show Description

The bare-bones, rustic, and poignant sounds of singer/songwriter and banjo player Abigail Washburn seem so genuine and natural they must come from a person who grew up in love with and surrounded by folk and bluegrass. On her latest album, 'Song of the Traveling Daughter' (Nettwerk), Washburn's evocative vocals and clawhammer banjo style are supported by Ben Sollee's cello, an instrument that brings a dark, primeval feel to songs that sound like they're hundreds of years old, along with producer Bela Fleck's national steel guitar and banjo adding subtle grace notes to Washburn's timeless tales. In addition to her growing acclaim as a solo artist, especially for her unique fusion of Appalachian and Chinese folk traditions, Washburn has made a name for herself as a member of the acclaimed old-time string band Uncle Earl. "Abigail Washburn puts a new twist on Old Time. Hence, when America's oldest music form played the world's oldest civilization, it was in Chinese...Her unusual repertoire included compositions in Chinese and English, plus traditional Chinese poems as nobody here has heard them, put to the lively picking of banjo, guitar, stand-up bass and fiddle. The results were eclectic and inspiring...Washburn is a daring, definite talent, whose feel for the folk idiom results in moving material. Soulful is the word. On stage, her voice resonated with the power of a seasoned performer and her poetic hill tunes sounded all the more evocative in Chinese." - Wall Street Journal