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The Blue Ridge Girls Traditional Appalachian Music

The Blue Ridge Girls - Bio

The Blue Ridge Girls, like their name, invoke a picturesque simplicity with their take on traditional mountain music. The trio features Martha Spencer, Jamie Collins, and Brett Morris, and features a variety of old time, bluegrass and country songs, flatfooting to fiddle and banjo tunes, original songwriting, and unique takes on other familiar crowd-pleasers. All three women grew up in musical families and are working to preserve and promote the Blue Ridge's rich musical heritage. The Blue Ridge Girls traveled to historic Muscle Shoals, Alabama during the summer of 2021 to record their first album, which is expected to be released in 2022.

Martha Spencer is a singer-songwriter, mountain musician and dancer from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She grew up in the musical Spencer family and learned to play several instruments (guitar, fiddle, banjo, bass, dulcimer, mandolin) and flatfoot/clog at a young age. She performs and records with various groups, and has been involved with several roots music projects. Martha has played shows, festivals and led workshops across the US, Australia, UK, and Europe. She just released a solo album and has been included in articles in Rolling Stone Country, No Depression, Wide Open Country, Cowboys & Indians Magazine, Americana Highways, PopMatters, and more.

Jamie Collins is a singer/songwriter, bassist and guitarist from Bristol, TN. Growing up with her dad, Tony, who was one of the area's best flat pickers, Jamie has been surrounded by talented musicians since birth. She has played with her family and several ensembles through the years, and now teaches elementary music, as well as with JAM. Her first solo record will be available in 2022.

Brett Morris has also been playing and dancing to traditional Appalachian music with her family since childhood. Now an accomplished clawhammer banjo player, bassist, and flatfoot dancer, Brett has a creative and rhythmic musical style based around old time, bluegrass, and country music traditions. She makes her home in Galax, Virginia, where she is also the mother of two, director of Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc. (JAM), and a freelance musician and dance teacher.

"With a repertoire consisting of old time mountain ballads, Appalachian folk songs, and deep-rooted originals, The Blue Ridge Girls personify the traditions that they step into, masterfully carrying them forward for an entire new generation."

— Mason P. Winfree, DJ and Writer (Americana Highways, The Alternate Root, Bluegrass Today)

Performances -2021-

  • Abingdon Vineyard - Abingdon, VA
  • Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion -Bristol, TN
  • Busch Gardens - Williamsburg, VA
  • Byrd's Creek Music Fest - Crossville, TN
  • Chomp & Stomp Chili Cookoff - Atlanta, GA
  • Explore Park - Roanoke, VA
  • Ferrum Folklife Festival - Ferrum, VA
  • Floyd Country Store - Floyd, VA
  • FloydFest - Patrick County, VA
  • Home Craft Days Festival - Big Stone Gap, VA
  • Jack of the Wood - Asheville, NC
  • Muddy Creek Music Hall - Sparta, NC
  • Rex Theater - Galax, VA

Booking

theblueridgegirls@gmail.com – 276-768-6329

Credits:

Jeremy Drummond Maggie Ellmore Jill Beaton