Dirty Linen

This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen #138 (October/November 2008).
The full article is in the magazine, available on newsstands, by subscription, and at the Dirty Linen webstore.

Leela & Ellie Grace

Leela and Ellie Grace

Little Girls No More

by Deborah Wilbrink

It was time for creativity to manifest and make an expression of huge growth and change. Listeners say, "Look, they are two adults now!" Maybe because we're not smiling on the cover. -- Leela Grace

Old folkies approaching 30? The Grace sisters' rich musical heritage began in the Missouri living-room jams of parents Paul and Win Grace. The Grace parents were professionals on the folk music circuit, and Leela and Ellie joined in at a very young age. "A lot of people want to define what they do musically; the music industry encourages that. But we've grown up crossing lines. We love traditional and old-time music, rock, pop, activist music, Celtic, progressive. We're in that community," said Leela. The sisters not only harmonize, but complement. Ellie plays mandolin, guitar, and fiddle; Leela plays banjo and guitar. Both sing, write, and incorporate dance as percussive rhythm. Appalachian clogging is infused with tap, hip-hop, flamenco, Irish step dance, and more when the women dance in performance.

The sisters began touring independently from their parents in 1997, releasing a self-titled debut in 2003, produced by Pete Sutherland. Now Ellie lives in Asheville, North Carolina, and Leela has moved to Portland, Oregon. They've recently been promoting their new CD, Where the Waters Run, on the road. Years of touring give the sisters a unique perspective: As teens, they were in the midst of a powerful scene, but lacked peers; then about 10 years ago, they began to notice an influx of young people joining the folk and old-time scene. The women see the inclusion of political music as a cycle that's making a comeback, this time including gay rights. "Another thing: The scene was more inclusive musically when we were younger," said Leela. "Now there's endless argument about definition."

The women agree on a broad definition, from old time to Indigo Girls. They are excited about folk moving into the cultural foreground. "Lori McKenna is one of my favorites," said Ellie. "A woman singing a heartfelt song with guitar or piano -- and the general public is connecting. They're ready for folk music! It's coming to the popular realm; you hear it on TV and movie soundtracks. Real people and real music are putting their hearts out there."

Leela and Ellie also tour separately and with others, teach, and are DIY artists. While business tasks take time away from creative aspects, they see no other practical way to proceed, and have found that dilemma common among the Folk Alliance community. Ultimately funding was the biggest reason for waiting five years to make a new CD.

[cover #138]