Sister Sadie - A "One-Of" Appearance Turns into IBMA Nomination One Year Later

Sister Sadie was a real eye-opener for me when I saw them last October at the Bloomin' Bluegrass Festival in Farmers Branch, Texas.  When I saw them on the lineup, I had no idea what to expect from them or even who was in the band so I was completely surprised to see Dale Ann Bradley step up to the center of the stage, guitar in hand.

The rest of the band is comprised of strong musicians and singers with years of experience in bluegrass and country music.  Some of them grew up performing as members of family bands, and all of them have toured for years with various bluegrass and country bands.  Fiddler Deanie Richardson, for instance, toured with Patty Lawless for over seventeen years.  That's Tina Adair on mandolin and vocals, Beth Lawrence on bass, and Gena Britt on banjo and vocals.  Together they are Sister Sadie.

Funny thing is that the women originally formed the band for what they intended to be a one-of appearance at Nashville's Station Inn and never expected that they would work together again in that configuration.  They were apparently so enthusiastically received that night by everyone who saw them that they decided to go on for a while as a group to see what would happen.  They were still a pretty well-kept secret when I saw them last year, but they are doing so well these days that the IBMA has just nominated them for consideration as Emerging Artist of the year.  I'm hoping to see them in Raleigh in September and I'm rooting for them to be picking up that award.