Kickin Grass Ladies: Lynda and Pattie Debut Album, Traditional Duets, Now Available!

One of music’s most intriguing new acts began as a happy accident. The duo of Lynda Dawson and Pattie Hopkins was created when other members of the Kickin Grass Band, in which the girls play, were unable to showcase in the “Raleigh Room” at IBMA’s 2012 World of Bluegrass.

Together Lynda and Pattie decided that “the show must go on” and promptly discovered that they had a cadre of traditional songs that they knew and loved to share. 

An overwhelmingly positive response to that first performance led quickly to an international tour and ultimately the demand for an album from the fresh new duo. Fortunately, the other band members have been supportive of the girls’ effort. 

Taking advantage of current technology and fan-sourcing, Lynda and Pattie launched a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign that rendered more than $11,000 for their first album as a duo.

Traditional Duets is available now and features a classic album full of tight sister-like harmonies, soulful vocals and the honest fiddling and guitar playing that only a stripped down duo arrangement can allow. The album pays homage to Lynda and Pattie’s musical role models from bluegrass and roots as they explore new interpretations of heartfelt songs from the past.

Inspired by pioneers Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard, to step away from a full band and into a female duet, the gals chose for their first recording to go back to their roots. They took a handful of their favorite tunes and put a fresh spin on the songs – some familiar and some obscure – that was shaped from listening to folks like Bill Monroe, The Carter Family, Hazel and Alice, Doc Watson, The Everly Brothers, and others.

“We’ve been known through Kickin Grass Band for writing our own songs, so this album is a departure from that for us. The next Lynda and Pattie record will likely be all originals. It was a deliberate decision to cover traditional songs by pioneering artists who have inspired us creatively for our first project. They are part of the reason that we are here today,” stated Lynda.

Featuring guitar instrumentation topped with soulful fiddling, their natural blend of sweet harmonies makes you feel like you’ve been invited into the living room of a best-kept-secret musical house party.

Expect to hear compelling original songs, traditional American fiddle tunes and Appalachian duet standards.

“The duo’s strengths are their beautifully blended harmonies and Hopkins’ rounded fiddle style.”
– Dan Schram, Indy Week Review on MerleFest performance

Track Listing:

Long Time Gone A Distant Land To Roam Train On The Island Sittin’ Alone In The Moonlight Red Rocking Chair I Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow Your Lone Journey Cheyenne Cold Rain and Snow Blues In My Mind Dark As The Night, Blue As The Day Bonaparte’s Retreat Beautiful Hills of Galilee

Lynda and Pattie recorded all 13 tracks over 3 days in early January 2014 at Mitch Easter’s Fidelitorium studio in Kernersville, NC (REM, Suzanne Vega) with Jason Richmond as sound and mixing engineer. The album was mastered by Lurssen Mastering (O’Brother Where Art Thou; Alison Krauss and Robert Plant) and packaging designed by Gamil, with original hand-carved woodcut guitar and fiddle prints by Sally Mullikin.

About Lynda and Pattie:
Songwriting guitarist Lynda Dawson and fiddler Pattie Hopkins stepped out of the full-on Kickin Grass Band to lay down intricately crafted female duets as refreshing as a spring Carolina evening. Hailing from North Carolina these ladies have managed to turn one mishap into a full-fledge career that include an international tour and an album courtesy of Kickstarter donations. Though their music hails from Appalachia, it drifts as much as it races; the arrangements are warm and energetic, with strains of bluegrass, Celtic, gospel and country.