Bluegrass and Tea Leaves

Bluegrass music has been around long enough now for musicians to mess around with it. Play with it. Have some fun. Combine it with rock n' roll. Hip-hop. Gospel. Country. Folk. Classical.

But bluegrass combined with traditional Chinese music? I believe Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet are the first ones to brave that attempt.

And WOW! Does it work!

Abigail understands that liking strange toys is a
 prerequisite for appreciating Asian cultures.

A little explanation: Abigail Washburn is a banjo player and singer from Illinois. Straight-up American. Her bluegrass group called Uncle Earl was a big hit on the scene. However, she spent enough time in living in China after college to learn Mandarin and begin recording in it post-Uncle Earl. In 2004 she went on tour in Tibet with the uber-accomplished members of her quartet, which includes Béla Fleck on banjo, Casey Driessen on violin, and Ben Sollee on cello.

The GOOD SONG for today is Kangding Quingge (Old Timey Dance Party), which is such a fun song. The cello is fantastic. And then she starts singing in Chinese, accompanied by a banjo! It starts to get funkier as you go on. I wish I had something to say about the lyrics... but I have absolutely no idea what she's saying. She's got a nice voice though. 


BUY HER MUSIC HERE: Abigail Washburn!

If you like this song, you might also like:

Joanna Newsom

Chatham County Line

Béla Fleck

Uncle Earl

Chinese music???

Over and out,

Anna