Music
Press
Country music isn't "I've Got Tears in My Ears from Lying on My Back and Crying Over You." No sir.
Country music is an old music with careworn dignity and passion, evoking the front porches of shacks in the "hollers" and the neon-lit honkytonks in the cities.
The Blue Moon Cowgirls know this. Their close, shimmering harmonies bring that history back.
The Cowgirls take the stage Saturday evening at the Lurman Woodland Theatre.
Their repertoire stretches from 1920s Appalachia to 1990s California, with stops along the way at several decades' worth of prairie roadhouses and bayou dance halls. The sound of country music has always been on the move, but its heart has remained in the same place.
The Washington-area outfit includes Ann Porcella, Dana Ward, Karen Collins (who's an authentic coal miner's daughter) and, accompanying on guitar, Ira Gitlin.
The 6 p.m. show, part of Lurman's Summer Concert Series, is free. - Catonsville Times
Discography
Backroads & Bayous - Karen Collins - 2004
(Blue Moon Cowgirls are on 5 cuts)
"Call Collect for Christmas" - Hungry For Music - A Holiday Feast - Vol IV
Photos
Bio
"A little bit invitin', a little bit excitin', a little bit ignitin' . . .that's my trademark," proclaims an old song. And that's the Blue Moon Cowgirls, four Washington-area musicians with their own refreshing approach to country music. A shimmering trio of female voices backed by flexible acoustic instrumentation, the Blue Moon Cowgirls blend front-porch directness with neon-lit sophistication as they sing about home and highways, heaven and honkytonks, heartbreak and hope. Their repertoire stretches from the 1920s Appalachia to the 1990s California, with stops along the way at several decades' worth of prairie roadhouses and bayou dance halls. The sound of country music has always been on the move, but its heart has remained in the same place, and the Blue Moon Cowgirls can take you there.
Ann Porcella's musical taste gravitates toward the gospel music she learned at home from her preacher father and very large musical family. Her deep, powerhouse voice adapts well to many different traditional styles, though harmony singing is her first love. She has performed solo and with a variety of ensembles at folk venues around the country, including the Augusta concerts and Folk on Broadway.
Karen Collins, a coal miner's daughter from Southwest Virginia, grew up listening to country music. Currently she is fiddler and vocalist with the Washington area's popular Cajun band Squeeze Bayou and plays with Ira in the honky tonk country group, The Backroads Band . She has been involved in various types of traditional music for many years and has played and sung in bluegrass, old-time Appalachian, and early country music groups.
Lynn Healey is the newest member of the Cowgirls. A Washington DC native, Lynn grew up singing with her father and two sisters. She favors harmony singing and playing rhythm guitar. Her background and love of bluegrass music is reflected in her singing and playing. Lynn has been a member of several area bluegrass bands, including New Girls Nite Out and Orange Line Special.
Ira Gitlin's guitar playing gets its down-to-earth drive from his long involvement in bluegrass, and its sophisticated rhythms and harmonies from his interest in western swing and jazz. A WAMMIE award winning multi-instrumentalist and former National Bluegrass Banjo Champion, Ira is in demand as a sideman and music instructor. He can also be heard locally with Backroads Band, the The Oklahoma Twisters , Lulu's Fate, and the Hard Travelers.
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