BlueUZgrass: Della Mae Brings Bluegrass Music to Tashkent

12/05/2012

Band members Courtney Hartman and Kimber Ludiker make a new friend in Khiva. (U.S. Embassy photo)

The ladies of Della Mae perform at the Khorezm Arts College. (U.S. Embassy photo)

Della Mae, the all-women bluegrass band, took Uzbekistan by storm in November with one of America’s greatest musical traditions. Scottish, Irish and English immigrants in the Appalachian region of the U.S. developed bluegrass from traditional music, later incorporating jazz elements. Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash are among the famous U.S. performers to sing bluegrass songs.

When Della Mae started performing in 2009, it was the only all-women bluegrass band on the U.S. touring scene. One of the main goals of Della Mae is to showcase strong women in bluegrass. The band has toured the world, playing at festivals, music clubs and house concerts and conducting workshops. Members include Kimber Ludiker (fiddle), Celia Woodsmith (vocals/guitar), Shelby Means (bass), Jenni Lyn Gardner (mandolin) and Courtney Hartman (guitar/vocals/banjo).

Della Mae kicked off its visit to Tashkent with a Master class and jam session at Uspenskiy Music College for an audience of 100 students ages 14-18. Saturday they did a similar master class at Pop Circus College and later enjoyed a reception at Ambassador George Krol’s residence which quickly became a jam session with local musicians and dancers.

After a day enjoying sights such as Chorsu bazaar, Hast Imam madrasa complex, Amir Temur Museum and Tamara Khanum Museum, the ladies went back to work with a students’ discussion just prior to their November 19 concert performance at Tashkent’s Turkiston Palace where they played for an audience of more than 1,000 people. In addition to playing their own songs, the group received riotous applause when they collaborated with Uzbek singing sensation Jassur and local musicians from the band Sultan.

“The traditional musicians of Uzbekistan are a great treasure. It’s an honor to play with them,” said Woodsmith. “We love these guys!” Woodsmith added as Jassur and Sultan joined them onstage for a final song.

See also the photo gallery of Della Mae.