Smith Sisters

Details:

Date: September 24, 2016

Time: 8:00pm - 10:00pm

Sponsor: Little Washington Theatre
Venue: The Theatre at Washington, Virginia
Where: 291 Gay St

About:

$25 - Adults $10 - Under 18 Reserved Seating Thirty five years ago The Smith Sisters, Debi and Megan Smith, became a country folk musical duo. As Debi tells it, she didn't even know her little sister could sing until Megan came home from college and joined her in a duet. Since then, this local folk act has shared billing with artists like Emmylou Harris, Kathy Mattea, Ricky Skaggs, Bill Monroe, Doc Watson, Chet Atkins and Loretta Lynn. Their show blends original, traditional and country-folk tunes with warmth and humor. Debi sings lead vocals, plays guitar and bodhran (Irish hand drum) and generally plays straight man to Megan, the duo's electric bassist. Between the two of them, the sisters play more than a dozen instruments. But it is the sound of their voices in harmony that makes fans like Garrison Keillor "weep," the renowned NPR host told his audience. Since they began performing together in 1981, they have played at colleges, universities, festivals and concert halls across the country and around the world, such as The Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap Farm Park, Epcot Center, The Bottom Line in New York, and the Edmonton, Winnipeg and Philadelphia Folk Festivals. They have appeared on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," "Mountain Stage," "Prairie Home Companion," "Radio Smithsonian," "Voice of America" and Country Music Television (CMT). Part of the Smiths’ appeal is the emphasis they place on family. For years, they toured with their mother and father, David and Vivian, and even with Debi's son Lee when he was a baby. It is this family unity that endeared the Smith Sisters to another family act, the legendary Doc and Merle Watson. Merle, who was a mentor to the Smiths before his untimely death in 1985, produced the duo's first two albums. The Watsons' bassist, T. Michael Coleman (also of Seldom Scene fame), produced their third CD; their fourth was recorded live at the legendary Birchmere nightclub in Alexandria, Va., with guitarist Al Petteway as accompanist. The Smith Sisters recorded four of their six albums on the Rounder/Flying Fish label and two children's albums on American Melody, a label which has received Parents' Choice and American Library awards. Since 1994, Debi has been performing at theatres and concert halls around the U.S. with the musical group The Four Bitchin' Babes, with whom she’s recorded seven albums; Debi has recorded as many solo albums as well. Her music has been Grammy®-nominated and she and The Smith Sisters have won a number of Wammies (Washington Area Music Awards). Megan is presently a filmmaker and president of WayMark Productions, and is currently producing a documentary film on alternative cancer therapies. Debi lives in the D.C. metro area, while Megan lives in nearby Rappahannock County, Va. "Like the best sibling groups, the Smiths have been singing together for so long that their voices merge in effortless and graceful harmony." - The Washington Post

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