Over the past few years, Sister Sadie has been a bluegrass sensation. The group, assembled as a side project in 2013, had become one of the most dominant acts in bluegrass, winning both Entertainer of the Year and Vocal Group of the Year during the 2020 IBMA Bluegrass Awards.
The Sadies were assembled from among top female bluegrass performers, and the mix of talents and personalities took the group much further than their initial intentions ever suggested. With primary vocalists in Tina Adair and Dale Ann Bradley, and help from Gena Britt and fiddle powerhouse Deanie Richardson, both their recordings and live shows were the talk of the town.
But for one link in this chain, those days are behind her. Dale Ann has announced today that she is leaving Sister Sadie to focus on her own solo career, as she had been doing prior to the establishment of the band. She has her own record label contract with Pinecastle Records, with a new touring band and a new album to support, presuming that live music will return in 2021.
She says that she still love her Sadie sisters, but that it was time for her to work on her own music again.
“I’ve had some of the best times of my life with the Sadie girls. They are so extremely talented and the funniest people one could be around. I’ll always be excited to hear them sing and play! Go see their show…it’ll always be a great one!”
Bradley has renamed her touring band, and will henceforth bill as Dale Ann Bradley & Moon Runner. Mike Sumner is on banjo, Ethan Burkhart on bass, Matt Leadbetter on reso-guitar, and Kim Fox on guitar and vocals.
For this next record, cut with Moon Runner, Dale Ann will highlight a number of her new original songs, written during the enforced down time this year. Though the first single, Falling Down, was written by Ashby Frank, look for more Bradley songs when we get the full project in 2021.
While it will be sad to no longer see Dale Ann with Sister Sadie, it will be comforting to find her back where we have loved her for years, leading her own group and recording interesting new music.
