Della Mae Signs with Kieth Case Associates!

KCA Artists is very excited to announce the addition of Della Mae to our roster. The Seattle-based online music resource Hearthmusic.comsays, “Della Mae are a ridiculously polished all-grrrl nouveau bluegrass band based out of Boston.

Each woman in the band is a lead player on her instrument, and their vocals and harmonies are tighter than the hangman’s noose.

This is bluegrass music played with a love for its roots and great hope for its future. Bluegrass played with the knowledge that Bill Monroe’s vision fits just as well in a new century as it did in the last one. Bluegrass played with confidence, drive, and the pure energy that birthed the music in the first place.”

Della Mae features the reigning 2-time National Fiddle Champion Kimber Ludiker; innovative guitar player Courtney Hartman; the very talented mandolinist Jenni Lynn Gardner; well-known and respected bassist Amanda Kowalski; and powerhouse vocalist Celia Woodsmith.

Formed during the Fall 2009 in Boston, Della Mae was born from a yearning for a traditional bluegrass sound in the heart of New England. Della Mae strives to create music that tells a story while delivering a punch. The energy that this band puts forth spills out into the aisles, leaving everyone with a smile on their face.

Della Mae Is Honored With First Review of 2012

...With “I Built This Heart,” Della Mae has kicked the door wide open, and they now have the bluegrass and acoustic music world’s attention!...

When Della Mae members “Sunny,” “Captain,” “Juggles” and “Rosy” decided to invite  “Squawk” to join forces with them, did they already know how magical the result was going to be?

Did “Squawk” have any idea how good a home she was going to?  It’s been said that #1,  all good things happen for a reason…..  and #2, that where a person is, is usually right where they’re supposed to be. It must be true, because these five musicians really sound like they all belong together! Go ahead…. go to their web site, order your copy of their new CD, “I Built This Heart,” and ENJOY! Their web site is the only place you can get it. It’ll be some of the best money you’ve spent in a while, and your “ears” will love you for it!

Click Here to Read the Full Review!

Della Mae says Goodbye to German Fans!

Della Mae’s final Guest-Blog 

WELCOME HOME 

Finally after a long day of travel we have landed safe and sound on American soil. After 3 weeks of not really understanding what people are saying, I must admit no small amount of joy upon hearing and seeing English again. No slight to our German friends of course, we just need to get better at learning the language!! The prize to “The Most German Spoken Onstage” goes to Courtney, who saved the day by learning several key phrases.

The tour was both wonderful and exhausting. We managed to make it through without any serious meltdowns or break ups, which might I add is impressive for a group so large. We even incorporated a few new songs into the set, and tightened our sound overall. We ended on a high-note playing to an enormous crowd at the Albert Einstein Forum in Kaarst, Germany. We sold out of our CD’s and were able to come home knowing that almost 400 Germans have taken a piece of us home with them. Hey Hey!

We do hope to be back as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Traveling to Europe was incredibly eye opening- perhaps we’ll have a few days to sightsee this time!

Della Mae would like to thank Rainer and Ille Zellner for working so hard to keep the tour rolling, Werner Schutte for making us sound good and Gerda and Dieter for driving us all over tarnation! We had a fantastic time, and look forward to seeing all of you again.

For you folks stateside, Della Mae has just announced that we will be appearing at Telluride this summer! See you there.

Cheers,

Celia

Prescription Bluegrass has been honored to host the guest blogs from Della Mae during their European Tour with the Bluegrass Jamboree.  This is their final posting for this tour but we invite any of the ladies to send us their comments from the road at any time.   Our sincere thanks to all of them.  To read any of their posts or view pictures from the trip use any of the links below.

• #6 Guest Blog #6 from Della Mae’s Celia Woodsmith

• #5 Della Mae’s Celia Woodsmith Gets European Guest-Blogger Honors!

• #4 Guest Blogger Celia Woodsmith Updates on Della Mae’s Tour with The Bluegrass Jamboree!
• #3 Della Mae Guest Blog #2 On The Road to Switzerland
• #2 Della Mae Tours Europe!
• #1 Europe’s 3rd Bluegrass Jamboree To Be Broadcast Worldwide!

Guest Blog #6 from Della Mae’s Celia Woodsmith

Della Mae is currently on tour with the Bluegrass Jamboree in Germany, Switzerland and The Czech Republic.  The group’s Celia Woodsmith has been updating us with periodic reports and files this report from Prague.  To read her earlier posts, click on the links at the bottom of this post.

Prague in 1 hour at 6am? I’m not saying it was totally satisfactory, but it helped to scratch the itch. All five of the Della Mae women woke up at 5:30 and walked down to, and over the Charles Footbridge, which was built in 1359. People were walking to work in the pre-dawn chilly air and the spires and domes of the downtown historical area were backlit against the horizon. Now I know why so many people told me that I would absolutely love Prague- I have to go back when I have at least 5 days to spare.

The show in Prague was wonderful, probably the biggest crowd yet. It will never cease to amaze me that there is a devoted crowd of bluegrass lovers in the seemingly most random parts of the world.

Della Mae’s Celia Woodsmith Gets European Guest-Blogger Honors!

After three guest-blogger posts here at the Prescription Bluegrass Blog from their European tour with the Bluegrass Jamboree, Della Mae’s lead singer and guitarist Celia Woodsmith has announced that she’ll also be updating the European readers on the European Bluegrass Blog blog.ebma.org/.   Prescription Bluegrass is proud of the ladies of Della Mae – as ambassadors of American Bluegrass in Europe, their music already speaks volumes and now they’re being recognized for some of their other valuable gifts.    We’re also eternally grateful to them for sharing with us.  Here is Celia’s 4th post.

A fter going on several 8-hour bus trips we have learned to love the bus. Bus time is free time. Most people pick instruments, sleep, write or listen to music. Courtney, who is still a student at Berklee just wrote her final ten page paper! I don’t know how she does it amidst all the chaos. We are currently heading up from the south to the middle of Germany, passing prime Hop growing territory. Only a couple more days until we make the long journey to Prague! In other exciting news we are now guest bloggers on the EBMA (European Bluegrass Music Association) website. What an honor! Thanks for inviting us to share our stories.

Guest Blogger Celia Woodsmith Updates on Della Mae’s Tour with The Bluegrass Jamboree!

The fields are covered in snow as we drive from Ravensburg to Kempten, another small medieval town in the south of Germany. Before Ravensburg, we got up early to visit Dachau, one of many concentration camps still standing today.

Dachau has now been turned into a museum/memorial, and some of it has been rebuilt after the extensive bombing it underwent during liberation. Unfortunately the museum was closed, but we were able to look over the fence and view most of the area through the bus’s rain patterned windows. For me, it is impossible to comprehend an event such as the Holocaust. There are no words that accurately describe what its like to see a place where such terrible things transpired. As we silently looked on, images seemed to rise up out of the ground to play out deeply saddening scenes. There, in front of us were the 30 raised beds of soil where the long sleeping houses were, the open square where roll call was held and the enormous gate with the saying “Work sets you free” inscribed on it. As I have had more time to digest the trip, I think it’s one of the more important places I’ve had the honor to visit. 

Della Mae Guest Blog #2 On The Road to Switzerland

Currently we are driving from the Black Forest region to Schaffhausen, Switzerland to play at the Kammgarn. As we drive through the countryside we are passing a land filled with plowed fields in various stages of growing. Werner tells me that it’s mostly Corn, Lettuce, Rye and Wheat this time of year.

Minus the cobbled streets and clay roofs, the landscape looks familiar to me, having lived in Vermont my whole life. The food has been hearty, the people kind and our travels are going smoothly.

Della Mae Tours Europe!

Della Mae, currently on tour throughout Germany, has agreed to become “Guest-Bloggers” here and share their adventures with us back home for the next 3 weeks.  The group’s lead singer Celia Woodsmith sends us the ladies’  first report and we’ll remind you that you can listen in on a world-wide broadcast of their first show tomorrow night.  Details at the bottom of Celia’s post. 

The Bluegrass Jamboree is on the Road! After 21 hours of traveling from Boston to Dublin and finally to Dusseldorf, we have managed to get here in one piece. After bumbling through a couple supermarket transactions we sat down to wait for our sound-man Werner to pick us up. Though he claims he is just a sound-man, Werner also acts as our tour manager but more importantly he is the person we learn our many quirky German phrases from. I do hope that Greg Lizst of the Deadly Gentlemen uses “I have been a very bad dog” on stage. To our dismay “You are a very good looking audience” doesn’t translate so well….

Europe’s 3rd Bluegrass Jamboree To Be Broadcast Worldwide!

„The Future of Bluegrass“
Della Mae (USA) 
Deadly Gentlemen (USA) 
Cahalen Morrison and Eli West (USA) 

As the Bluegrass World celebrates the hundredth birthday of Bill Monroe, the "father" of bluegrass music, the 3rd „Bluegrass Jamboree – Festival of Bluegrass and Americana Music“, with three young and innovative artists performing on this year`s tourwill offer a look into the future of the genre.

 .

Many of the exciting developments in
Bluegrass are currently found outside the regions of its origin in the South East of the United States. In the same way Bill Monroe and his band invented Bluegrass in the late 1940s mixing Blues, Jazz, Irish and Scottish folk, Gospel and Spirituals in Kentucky, his peers and successive generations of players kept experimenting on developing new aspects and sounds until today.

Della Mae’s “Polk County” Makes the Approved List of Auditory Therapy for Next Week!

The Prescription Bluegrass Official List of Auditory Therapy for the week beginning Saturday Oct. 29 which will be published tomorrow.   Meanwhile here’s some teaser treatment on video of the ladies.   Enjoy!

Celia Woodsmith, lead vocals and guitar Kimber Ludiker, fiddle Jenni Lyn Gardner, mandolin Courtney Hartman, guitar and harmony vocals Amanda Kowalski,bass. Filmed by Greg Liszt in Brighton, MA on 8/22/11 Song written by Celia Woodsmith heyheydellamae.com

The Bluegrass Legacy Says:
Della Mae • www.dellamae.bandcamp.com • "Della Mae are a ridiculously polished all-grrrl nouveau bluegrass band based out of Boston. Each woman in the band is a lead player on her instrument, and their vocals and harmonies are tighter than the hangman's noose." ~ Hearth Music •www.facebook.com/della.mae.fb

Della Mae Plans Webcast of CD Release Party!

Join us at 8pm Eastern Time on www.concertwindow.com 

for a live webcast of the festivities.

The ladies of Della Mae are back at Club Passim; this time for the Official Release concert of their recent studio recording entitled, "I Built This Heart".

DELLA MAE RELEASES TWO VIDEOS FROM NEWEST CD

Hey Hey Della Mae, the all-female bluegrass band we’ve been hearing so much about since last year’s World of Bluegrass Conference has just released two new videos from their latest CD, “I Built This Heart”.

“Jamie Dear” is the song they we were fortunate enough to get an advance copy of and featured the world-premier exclusive radio listening back in June to help the ladies with their Kickstarter® Fundraising campaign.

Enjoy and if you find yourself in Nashville next week or any other location where the ladies are playing, be sure to shake and howdy!

         

Celia Woodsmith, lead vocals and guitar
Kimber Ludiker, fiddle
Jenni Lyn Gardner, mandolin
Courtney Hartman, guitar and harmony vocals
Amanda Kowalski, bass

Filmed by: Greg Liszt in Brighton, MA on 8/22/11

Songs written by: Celia Woodsmith

heyheydellamae.com

Della Mae Reaches Fundraising Goal!

Della Mae Pre-Release Albums Have Arrived

Della Mae, the all-female bluegrass group out of Boston announced to fans and especially those who committed to pre-orders of their new CD, "I Built This Heart", that the shipment has arrived.

The ladies launched a "Kickstarter Campaign" a month ago to help with financing the project and pre-orders were included in the numerous incentives for donations.  

There is just eleven more days to go before the end of their fundraising campaign.

The way it works is that they MUST meet or exceed their goal or they receive NONE of the contributions.

...THE PRE-RELEASE ALBUMS ARE HERE!!!  We have such incredible friends!  Thanks to everyone who has supported our Kickstarter campaign.  We are about $1,700 from reaching our goal! We're humbled by the amount of pre-orders we've had, and by friends giving more to help us start this journey with less debt!...

Donations of any amount from one dollar and up are accepted and in an update message posted on the Kickstarter page, the ladies say for $35 you can get a digital copy of the album immediately and a Life-Size Cardboard Cut-Out of the group to carry around with you.

The group is headed for the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival  (July 14-17, 2011 On the Walsh Farm, Oak Hill, NY) with their CD's, T-Shirts and crowd-thrilling performances.

Read Other Posts About Della Mae:

• Prescription Bluegrass Blog: Della Mae Reveals "Guests" on Upcoming CD
• Prescription Bluegrass Radio to Get Exclusive "Della Mae"
• Prescription Bluegrass Blog: Della Mae's Kimber Ludiker On The ...
• Prescription Bluegrass Blog: Preview Songs from the new Della Mae CD!
• Prescription Bluegrass Blog: Della Mae adds Celia Woodsmith to the ...
• Grand National Fiddle Champion Gets Creative to Obtain New Fiddle!

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Kickstarter

Della Mae Reveals "Guests" on Upcoming CD

Della Mae's first full-length CD "I Built This Heart" is becoming, if not already, a much anticipated and eagerly sought after CD.  

The ladies have been teasing fans for months with the concept of some "very special" guests artists appearing on the project.

Finally, they've revealed the names in a special promotional video created for their Kickstarter campaign. And the guests are....

Alison Brown: Banjo / Laurie Lewis: Vocal / Brittany Haas (Croooked Still): Fiddle / Emma Beaton (Joy Kills Sorrow): Vocals

~ SAMPLE SOME OF THE NEW SONGS HERE ~

The album will honor both Celia's father, and the life of the late Hazel Dickens, a pioneering woman in the world of bluegrass. All of the material on our new album has been written by women and features special guests Alison Brown on banjo, Laurie Lewis and Emma Beaton (Joy Kills Sorrow) on vocal harmonies, Brittany Haas (Crooked Still) on twin fiddles, and Courtney Hartman on guitar (who you'll see making guest appearances with us all summer)!

Powerhouse vocalist Celia Woodsmith, National Fiddle Champion Kimber Ludiker, impeccable mandolinist Jenni Lyn Gardner, and seasoned bassist Amanda Kowalski are in the studio with Nashville engineer Erick Jaskowiak and producer Austin Nevins of Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band.

Total cost of the project is estimated at $16 Grand and the ladies have until July 23rd to reach their goal.  The way the Kickstarter rules are set, if they don't reach the goal by that date, donors will not be obligated to pay their donation and the group will not receive any funding from the campaign.

Della Mae Website

Kickstarter page

Prescription Bluegrass Radio to Get Exclusive "Della Mae" First!

Della Mae has been going through some exciting changes in the last couple months. First and foremost, the ladies are in the middle of recording their first full-length album to be named "I Built this Heart". All the songs on the album are written and composed by women and the album will honor the lives of Celia's father, Frank Woods, along with the late Hazel Dickens, a Della Mae Idol and a pioneer in Bluegrass.

The group has promised to give Prescription Bluegrass Radio an "Exclusive First" to broadcast a song from the album.  "Jamie Dear", a song from the pen of the group's newest member - Celia Woodsmith will be the song radio listeners will hear. "Jamie Dear" is a rousing toe-tapper  about the guilt of a romantic breakup that Woodsmith says she wrote about four years ago however this is the first time the song has been recorded.  Prescription Bluegrass Radio is syndicated and fans will be able hear the song several times by tuning in to all of the various stations that carry the broadcast.  Click Here for times and locations.  The song will be included in the program that airs on affiliate stations beginning Saturday, June 11th.

Miss Woodsmith said the song is about a personal relationship however the name Jamie was borrowed because it fit so nicely with the song's rhythm.  She explains:

"I was also studying a lot about landscape natural history, and the chorus lyrics "Swamp's on fire and the Leatherleaf, is burning like the letters that you sent to me" was taken directly after I learned about a certain plant "leatherleaf" that grows in swamps and burns like crazy. Sometimes it will burn in the winter effectively lighting a whole swamp on fire in a most improbable way."

 Listen To "Jamie Dear" Click on the player . . . .

Celia Woodsmith, joined Della Mae just this year as rhythm guitarist and singer. She has been performing with the group since February (Joe Val bluegrass Festival) and has penned ten of the songs on the record. Della Mae has amicably parted ways with Banjo player Grace Van't Hof, who recently achieved her fundraising goal, and is currently in the process of recording an album of her own!

Della Mae is going in exciting new directions musically. Many of Woodsmith's songs have tastes of blues, folk, pop and country with very real and heartfelt lyrics. The strong bluegrass base of Fiddle player Kimber Ludiker, Mandolinist Jenni Lyn Garnder, Guitarist Courtney Hartman and Bass player Amanda Kowalski keep the tradition alive and kickin'. As if the album couldn’t get any better, the ladies say they are humbled by the appearance of several surprise guests on selected tracks- "we can’t wait to leak the names!"

"We are incredibly excited to see where “I Built this Heart” and a summer of amazing festivals will take us! We hope that this album will be one of many.  All of the material on our new album has been written by women and features special guests Alison Brown on banjo, Laurie Lewis and Emma Beaton (Joy Kills Sorrow) on vocal harmonies, Brittany Haas (Crooked Still) on twin fiddles, and Courtney Hartman on guitar (who you'll see making guest appearances with us all summer)! "

The record, due to be out in time for Greyfox and Rockygrass festivals in July is going to be exclusively available for pre-order on Kickstarter.com, a premier fundraising site. Check up on it for unique fundraiser gifts and up-to-date information.

One of the features of the Kickestarter campaign is that fans can click on a special "Ask A Question" Icon which will allow them to type a question about the group or the new album and get an answer direct from the group's award winning fiddle player, Kimber Ludiker

According to the group's calculations, total costs for the album will exceed $13,000.  In a statement the ladies posted on their Kickstarter page, they go beyond simply asking for donations.

"We need YOUR help to get this record out! We are so proud and excited about the material on "I Built This Heart", and can't wait to share it with all of you. We have an incredible amount of gratitude towards all of our fans, listeners, and supporters. You are an inspiration to keep writing, performing, and honing our craft. It is a humbling experience to be making this album WITH you, not just FOR you."

Donors can contribute any amount of money. The suggested amounts begin at $10.00 and range up to any amount however the ladies promise if some gracious soul wanted to donate $5,000 or more they would make a life-sized cut-out of the donor and take it with them everywhere they go in addition to other seriously exclusive options.  However much fun and shenanigans it may sound like, they say seriously, "...we already have a line on where to get the Cut-Out done."

The band is also working on a special promotional video for the new album that will be released hopefully within the next week and a special CD Release concert is planned with Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum for July 23rd at Club Passim  in Cambridge, MA  (Tickets and More Info Here)

Band Website
Facebook Page
Kickstarter

Preview Songs from the new Della Mae CD!

 NEWS !!!

Della Mae’s Debut full-length album will be recorded at the end of May. The band says they are SO excited to be working with Erick Jaskowiak from Nashville, TN and Austin Nevins from Boston, MA. and they are recording LOTS of originals by new vocalist, Celia Woodsmith.

Until then... enjoy these NEW promo recordings of songs that will be on the upcoming album! All of these are Celia Woodsmith originals. Engineered by Dan Cardinal at Hi n’ Dry in Somerville, MA. Produced by Austin Nevins.

___________

Grand National Fiddle Champion Gets Creative to Obtain New Fiddle!

Grand National Fiddle Champ.
Kimber Ludiker with her
Jonathon Cooper 5-string

A 5-string fiddle is to a champion fiddler like the entire Boston Pops Orchestra is to Arthur Fielder.

Grand National Fiddle Champion Kimber Ludiker has her eye on just such a fiddle and has come up with a clever way to obtain it.

Kimber writes:

"Friends! Family! Help me own this BEAUTIFUL fiddle. Check out my "Kickstarter" project with fun incentives like music, lessons, concerts, etc."

The fiddle in question is a Jonathan Cooper 5-String and Kimber's website has all the details including an extensive list of incentives available for those who choose to help her.  For answers to any questions, Kimber invites you to contact her directly at kimberludiker@gmail.com

National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest Weiser Idaho 2010. 

Kimber is the Reigning Grand National Champion

...and also wins the title again for 2010. 

This is a Texas Style Competition. Kimber's 3 tunes are Tom & Jerry, 

The Wedding Song, and Cotton Patch Rag. 

Kimber's All-Girl Bluegrass Band - Della Mae at Grey Fox 2010 - "Bowling Green"

More about Jonathon Cooper Fiddles
“Made in Maine,” a PBS series, aired an episode covering instrument making. Jon is filmed and interviewed in his shop by fiddler Frank Ferrell. Watch Jon’s Segment. Click below to view a clip!

• View Segment 1 (10M)
• View Segment 2 (8M)

Bluegrass On Folk Alley - Big in 2010

Bluegrass Has A Banner Year In The Alley!

Folk Alley, the popular Internet streaming site for all things Folk has published their list of the top CDs of 2010.  By surveying each of their own on-air staff and 12 of the country's top Folk Disc Jockeys and one from Ontario, Canada they have compiled what these experts feel is the best Folk Music of 2010.

Numerous Bluegrass Artists made the list and topping them all was Crooked Still  with more recognition than any other group or artist on the list - totaling eight separate nominations.

Tim O'Brien scored three nominations and The Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band,  The SteelDrivers and The Cherryholmes were acknowledged twice each. 

   

Other Bluegrass Artists on the Best Folk List of 2010 were:

The Infamous Stringdusters

Punch Brothers

Della Mae

John Hartford String Band

Graves Mountain Live

Michael Martin Murphey

View the complete list here