The Daughters of Bluegrass have inducted a new honorary member. Amanda Cook from Pace, FL was so honored last weekend during the annual Daughters of Bluegrass Festival at the Mossy Oak Music Park in Guyton, GA.
Amanda sings and plays mandolin with her own group, Kennesaw Ridge, and has an album, One Stop Along The Road, available for purchase. Like so many young grassers, she started out performing with her father in High Cotton in 2007. She formed her band in 2014 and they work concerts and festivals regularly in the deep south.
Loraine Jordan, who started the Daughters of Bluegrass in 2005, tells us that they choose a new daughter to induct each year based on someone they see who has stepped out from behind the scenes to become a leader in bluegrass, either nationally or regionally.
A band billed as The Daughters played at the Mossy Oak festival, which featured Jordan on mandolin, Mindy Johnson Rakestraw on guitar, Frances Mooney on bass, Rebekah Long on guitar, Corrina Rose Logston on fiddle, Amanda Cook on mandolin, Carolyne Van Lierop on banjo, and Crystal Owens on bass. Lierop and Owens play with Cook in Kennesaw Ridge.
Lorraine said that she started a loose confederation of Daughters to highlight the many contemporary female bluegrass artists who were working in the business. And it launched as a conversation between Jordan and her banjo player at the time, Gena Britt.
“I told her we needed a project out with women doing all the pickin’ and vocals, so we started making phone calls to some of the female band leaders and strong side women. We did the first record with 14 of us, and have grown since into 170 plus who have recorded or performed with us.
Miss Dixie [Hall] got involved by writing songs for us on the second project, which she also co-produced. There is now a box set of all of our music.”
Congratulations to Amanda for making the team, and to Lorraine for the success of the Daughters of Bluegrass.
Here’s video of Cook and company doing their version of Pardon Me.
