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Uncle Earl

By Kim Ruehl, About.com

Uncle Earl

Uncle Earl

© Aaron Farrington
Description of Uncle Earl's Music: Old Time
Comparisons: Uncle Earl can easily be compared to Doc Watson, Carter Family, maybe even Gillian Welch.
Trivia Fact: Guitarist Kristin Andreassen adds her clogging skills to back up some Uncle Earl tunes.
Quote from Uncle Earl: "This band has the opportunity to set a precedent."
KC Groves: Singer, songwriter, and mandolin player KC is Uncle Earl's founding member. Based in Lyons, Colorado, she has released two solo Bluegrass albums as a member of the Colorado acoustic music scene.
Abigail Washburn: Based in Nashville, Tennessee, banjo player Abigail joined the G'Earls in May of 2003. She's also an accomplished solo artist, and released her first nationally-distributed solo album, Song of the Traveling Daughter on Network Records in 2005. Her solo CD features songs sung in Mandarin and English.
Rayna Gellert: Rayna's specialty is fiddle, and she joined the band in September of 2003. Based in Asheville, NC, she is a second generation Old Time player. She has toured both Americas as a fiddler for the Freight Hoppers, and has released solo recordings as well. Her most recent release, Starch and Iron features duets with singer/guitarist Susie Goehring.
Kristin Andreassen: Singer, clogger, guitarist, and fiddler extraordinaire. Kristin is based in Washington, DC, and she joined the band in December of 2003. She spent five years traveling as a teacher and performer with Maryland's Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble. She's currently working on a solo album of original Bluegrass and Old Time-inspired songs, produced by Mark Schatz.
Sharon Gilchrist: Sharon joined Uncle Earl in 2004 as full-time bass player. She grew up playing in bluegrass bands in Texas, and now lives in Santa Fe, NM. She was previously a member of the Santa Fe acoustic trio Mary & Mars. In addition to touring with Uncle Earl, she's also currently playing mandolin with Peter Rowan and Tony Rice Quartet.

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