Donna Hughes
Gig Seeker Pro

Donna Hughes

Trinity, North Carolina, United States | MAJOR

Trinity, North Carolina, United States | MAJOR
Band Country Singer/Songwriter

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Tony Rice Quote"

"In whatever musical context she chooses, Donna has the potential to go as far as she wants. The idea of producing this album intrigued me, because Donna is unique enough as a writer and performer to establish herself as a distinctive voice both within today’s bluegrass scene and beyond it. I truly believe this album is going to amaze everybody, regardless what category or genre they want to fit it into. As we were recording, I remember telling her, 'This album will be your calling card, and will open doors for you that you cannot imagine.' I believed that then, and now, as I listen to her new album, I believe it more than ever. Donna is very personable with her tunes – she writes from the soul. As a performer, she has many avenues to choose from." ~Tony Rice

- Rounder


"Mary Chapin Carpenter said.."

“As a longtime worshipper of Tony Rice, I knew that his involvement with this CD was a confirmation of the depth, substance, and talent of Donna as an artist and songwriter. She will garner many new fans with this work, and please the ones who already are lucky enough to know her music.”
~Mary Chapin Carpenter - Rounder


"Sumptuously doleful tune"

USA TODAY - Find Me Out on a Mountain Top, Donna Hughes: Sumptuously doleful tune that sounds like — but isn’t — a century-old Appalachian lament. - USA TODAY


"Highly Recommend"

Black Rose Acoustic Society Review - "I fell in love with this album the first time I popped it in my CD player. Donna Hughes grew up in tiny Trinidad, North Carolina, and has been well known behind the scenes in Nashville as a songwriter. Donna was trained in classical piano, but has hung in bluegrass circles for years, writing songs recorded by Alison Krauss, The Seldom Scene, and others. Donna wrote twelve of the fourteen tracks on Gaining Wisdom which was produced by Tony Rice and features harmony vocals from Alison Krauss, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rhonda Vincent, Carl Jackson and others. When you hear some of Donna’s piano blending with Rice’s melodic guitar, Scott Vestal’s banjo, and Rob Ickes' Dobro, you’ll believe that the piano is a bluegrass instrument. There are so many great songs on this album. Sad Old Train is a straight-ahead bluegrass number about love lost and the subsequent heartache. Bottom of a Glass tells the tragic tale of popular high school star succumbing to alcoholism and a ruined life. Letters describes Donna’s bittersweet feelings upon finding that her grandmother had saved all the letters Donna had written her over the years. Scattered to the Wind is a story of losing a parent, but also the insignificance of material things in the greater scheme of things. Donna writes from her soul, and takes you on an emotional journey with each song. This album also includes Donna’s version of Tim Stafford’s Find Me Out on a Mountain Top, and a bluegrass version of Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time, which is a delight. I highly recommend this CD."~ - Black Rose Acoustic Society


"Significant Career Milestone"

Heralded as one of the best new singer-songwriters in bluegrass, Donna Hughes’ debut on the reputable Rounder Records label is a significant career milestone for the creative and talented young woman from central North Carolina. When I first heard her independently released albums years ago, I knew she was inspired, motivated, and headed for great success. She just needed the right amount of luck. Enter guitarist Tony Rice who also heard “something that was down to earth, with a definitive southern flavor to it….that implied a broader, more adventurous approach.” This album, produced by Rice, includes four new arrangements of original songs that Hughes previously released on her own “Same Old Me” project. Eight additional originals are on this “Gaining Wisdom” album, along with two covers (“Time After Time” and “Find Me Out On A Mountain Top”).

As I’ve said before, Donna’s songs have potential to become contemporary bluegrass, acoustic country or folk hits. Classically trained on piano, Hughes also has a strong affinity for bluegrass music. She has performed with regional bands, Wildwood and Different Directions. Her adorned and relaxed presentation is incorporated with the modern instrumental consciousness of such stellar acoustic technicians as Tony Rice, Tim Stafford, Rob Ickes, Mike Bub, Sam Bush, Ron Stewart, Wyatt Rice, Bryn Davies, Rickie Simpkins, Wayne Benson, Scott Vestal, Kati Penn, and Obil Perez. To accompany her dreamy singing, we hear harmonies from Carl Jackson, Alecia Nugent, Sonya Isaacs, Mary Chapin Carpenter, John Carroll, Kati Penn, Rhonda Vincent, and Lona Heins. This is a very impressive cast that infuses her music with a great deal of enchantment. Hughes writes and sings moving and sensitive personal songs with a relaxed, refreshing, contemporary flair. Introspective themes of lost love, sorrow, longing, heartache, and optimism are covered.

In her song, “Letters,” Donna admits to having a lot to say in correspondence with her grandmother, and it becomes apparent that dreams and aspirations are in the Hughes’ family. “Where Are You Darlin'?” is a tale of anguish in which she sings, “Along with all my dreams/I can't go on, I can’t go back.” And the song “Too Many” expresses “I just can’t love you anymore.” Four of the tracks provide nice showcases for her piano playing, with the lean arrangement of “Talking to the Wind” being a particularly unique and lyrical way to end this euphonious album with a nod to her own Native American ancestry. (Joe Ross, Roseburg, OR.)
- CDinsight


"Superb Originals"

Birmingham Press - CD Review - "She's written more than 250 songs in a little more than a decade, including compositions for Alison Krauss and The Seldom Scene. And though this is being billed as the national debut of Donna Hughes, she's been around the bluegrass scene for awhile as can be seen by the A-list cast of contributors to this disc. Krauss and Mary Chapin Carpenter can be heard harmonizing on the tender album opener One More Time, and other guests include mandolin man Sam Bush and singer Rhonda Vincent on one of the album's best cuts, Bottom of a Glass. Gaining Wisdom also prominently features the great guitarist Tony Rice who produced the disc and is all over most of the songs. There are some superb originals here, particularly the poignant Scattered to the Wind, and a couple of well chosen covers, including Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time." - Birmingham Press


"Best Bluegrass CD of the Year"

Listening to Donna Hughes is like smelling sweet honeysuckle or listening to the sound of a clear mountain stream. Hughes vocals are plain refreshing. Producer Tony Rice (one of the best bluegrass guitarists around today) says "Donna has the potential to go as far as she wants to go".

Hughes started out writing songs and recording her own CDs and was getting artists like Alison Krauss's attention. Krauss recorded one of Hughes songs on her last CD Lonely Runs Both Ways.

For guest artists this disc has the best including Alison Krauss, MCC Carpenter, Sam Bush, Rhonda Vincent, Alecia Nugent, Carl Jackson, Tim Stratford, Rob Ickes and Sonya Isaacs. This is Hughes' first disc on Rounder, a very potent label, full of great bluegrass artists, Blues artists and Americana Artists. This CD for the most part is full of mellow, acoustic songs that are just very well done, twelve originals and two covers.

Rice wanted to feature Hughes' piano talent, though she had played guitar on her previous CDs. She does an excellent job and the piano songs sort of take you to another style of music than bluegrass, really polished acoustic music. Hughes has written two hundred and fifty songs in the last ten years.

This disc is like a who's who of the best bluegrass singers and pickers around today. It shows the respect that she has garnered for her songs. Rice has done a beautiful job with this music, it is so mellow and rich sounding. So many great pickers, yet they do not get in each others way. The overall sound reminds me a lot of Akus, but there are the slower just acoustic type songs too. Hughes has a beautiful vocal range with the best back up singers around. Definitely a modern recording, not an old time bluegrass, more pop oriented and new grass. But with Alison Krauss and Rhonda Vincent (two of bluegrass's best) on the disc, it shows the evolution of where bluegrass is going.

By the way, Rice is an awesome guitar picker, really has a style all his own, never had the privilege to listen to him in depth, he plays effortlessly and does runs that make you just say "wow", as Rob Ickes is a Dobro player that is ever as good as Jerry Douglas and a pleasure to listen to. Scott Vestal plays banjo and fits in well. Oh yeah, can not forget Sam Bush on mandolin, another great player in his own right.

"Talking To The Wind" features Tony's guitar and Donna's piano plus vocals of Carl Jackson and Alecia Nugent. It is about the sad displacement of the American Indian, great song. Rice is at his best here on guitar. I do believe that Hughes has some Indian blood in her.

I am out of space here and could really go on a lot more, but you need to hear this yourself. It might be the best bluegrass CD of the year. In a pop world of cookie cutter top forty music, this disc is pure creative genius. This is a must have for bluegrass lovers.

- COUNTRYSTARSONLINE.com


"Hughes Nevers Loses Spotlight"

On this auspicious debut, North Carolina native singer-songwriter-pianist Donna Hughes gets vocal support from Alison Krauss (who has recorded Hughes's "My Poor Old Heart"), Rhonda Vincent, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Sonya Isaacs, and is backed by a formidable band featuring producer/lead guitarist Tony Rice, Rob Ickes (dobro), Sam Bush (mandolin), Mike Bub (bass), and Ron Stewart (fiddle), among others. These artists don't just show up for anyone, so attention must be paid. Indeed, even with these all-stars on her team, Hughes never loses the spotlight. Singing in a sturdy contralto with the slightest of nasal twangs, she hits the heart of each song dead on. Her filigreed piano stylings betray an intimate knowledge of Baptist hymns. As a writer, her lyrics cut deep into the marrow of the human experience, whether she's engaged in a tender, winsome reminiscence of her grandmother's instructive letters to her (the gentle shuffle "Letters") or torching an ex in a withering post-breakup reality check, "Not Anymore.” Amid these songs about family, home, and ne'er-do-wells comes a powerful account, sung so folksy but with palpable outrage, about the treatment of Native Americans in North Carolina, "Talking to the Wind." Slipping neatly into this potent mix is a shuffling bluegrass treatment of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time," with Hughes giving it a discreet Appalachian tint that feels right. Making nary a misstep, Donna Hughes makes a helluva first impression. David McGee, Barnes & Noble

- Barnes & Noble


"Landmark Album"

"Donna Hughes Gaining Wisdom is her debut CD on Rounder Records. The CD reveals an artist of tremendous depth and talent. From Hughes’ contributions to the project, that include writing 12 of the 14 songs on the project, Tony Rice’s masterful production and an all-star cast of supporting musicians, you’d be hard pressed to find a more impressive debut album.

Hughes’ song-writing skills have a unique and endearing quality about them. On the surface, they can seem deceptively simple and down to earth with a casual listen, yet upon closer inspection they are revealed to be a highly sophisticated and thought provoking commentary on life itself, with an inate ability to command the listener’s undivided attention. Drawing one to reflect on the many different joys, sorrows and challenges faced in life.

Vocally, Hughes is as talented as any in the game. From the opening track, to the closer, she sings with pure convicted emotion and talent. Much like Alison Krauss, Donna Hughes has a vocal quality that transcends the traditional boundary’s of the genre and should easily bring Bluegrass and Acoustic Music to a much larger audience.

Along with her song-writing and vocal ability, Gaining Wisdom, features Hughes behind the piano. While not an instrument found in traditional bluegrass circles it fit’s in perfectly with the the flavor of the album and adds a new and unexpected dimension to the sonics of the project.

It would be a sin not to mention Tony Rice’s significant contributions to Gaining Wisdom. Along with handling a bulk of the guitar duties on the record, Rice also produced the compilation. And this is where Rice’s true genius is displayed.

Taking more of a “hands off” approach to the task of producing the project, allowing Hughes, the songs, the musicians and the sounds to take on a life of their own in the studio, it really comes through in the quality of the final product. The production on Gaining Wisdom shines the spotlight directly on Hughes… and She absolutely flourishes in it.

Rice also assembled some of the best musicians in the acoustic field to add their special touch to the album. Rob Ickes (dobro), Sam Bush (mandolin), Rickey Simpkins (mandolin), Mike Bub (bass), Scott Vestal (banjo) Ron Stewart (fiddle) and Wayne Benson (mandolin) are a few of the key players that show up on the disc with Carl Jackson, Alison Krauss, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Alecia Nugent, Sonya Isaacs and John Carroll among those contributing their talents to harmony vocals.

An album like Gaining Wisdom, I suspect, would come to be considered a “landmark” album for many artists in the midst of a long and successful careers. For Hughes, a relatively unknown, to debut with a collection of songs and performances this impressive… it leaves me highly anticipating her next release.

- Bluegrass Journal


"Award Winner!"

"There is also an uncontested DisCovery Award winner in this stack of platters. Donna Hughes is a songwriter that you all need to pay heed to, even you non bluegrassers. DONNA HUGHES/Bottom Of A Glass / Writer: Donna Hughes; Producer: Tony Rice; Publisher: Flying Hound, BMI; Rounder (track) — Hughes is the newest female sensation in bluegrass. She’s not only an expressive vocalist, but an extraordinary songwriter as well. She shines on this debut single, a lickety-split cautionary tale of a wayward male. Her instrumental support on this Gaining Wisdom CD is jaw dropping. In addition to producer Rice, the cast includes Sam Bush, Rob Ickes, Scott Vestal and other top-drawer pickers, not to mention such harmony vocalists as Carl Jackson, Alecia Nugent, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Sonya Isaacs, Alison Krauss and Rhonda Vincent. Buy and believe."

- MUSIC ROW


Discography

"Hellos, Goodbyes and Buttlerflies"
Release Date: Oct 2010
Rounder Records and produced by J. D. Crowe.

"Gaining Wisdom"
Release Date: February 27, 2007
Rounder Records and produced by Tony Rice

Same Old Me (indie)

Somewhere in Time (indie)

Photos

Bio

AWARDS, NOMINATIONS and SPECIAL HONORS for Donna Hughes and The Donna Hughes Band

2011 - Nominated for Country Female Vocalist of the Year by the Carolina Music Awards
2010 - Nominated for Country Female Vocalist of the Year by the Carolina Music Awards
2010 - Chosen for the IBMA Songwriter Showcase
2009 - Winner of Bluegrass Album of the Year ("GAINING WISDOM") by Just Plain Folks
2009 - 2nd place Bluegrass Song of the Year ("Bottom of a Glass") by Just Plain Folks
2009 - Nominated for Country Female Vocalist of the Year by the Carolina Music Awards
2009 - Chosen for the IBMA Showcase Artist
2008 - Nominated as Songwriter of the Year by the Roots Music Association
2007 - IBMA FanFest Performance
Numerous shows opening for Tony Rice and Peter Rowan
2005 Rounder IBMA Showcase
2005 International Bluegrass Music Association's Songwriter Showcase
2005 Gibson IBMA Showcase with Tony Rice
2004 International Bluegrass Music Association's Songwriter Showcase
2004 Rounder IBMA Showcase with The Grascals

BIO

Donna provides lead vocals and guitar performing her award-winning songs and is joined by Brian Stephens (vocals, guitar and mandolin); Maggie Stephens (bass and harmony vocals); and Patton Wages (banjo). The band also mixes it up by adding a fiddle on select shows. Brian Stephens takes the lead vocals on more traditional flavored tunes, while Maggie Stephens lends her beautiful harmony vocals that are a perfect blend with Donna's voice.

The Donna Hughes Band was nominated by the French Bluegrass Music Association as Band of Year and in 2009 the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) chose the group as an official IBMA Showcase artist. They just finished recording Donna’s second Rounder Records album, “Hellos, Goodbyes and Butterflies” released in October 2010 and produced by banjo legend, J.D. Crowe.

Donna has a rare songwriting talent that has garnered her worldwide attention and numerous songwriting awards. “Whatever moves me, moves me to write,” explains emerging songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Donna Hughes. For Hughes, songwriting is an all-consuming endeavor, encompassing all that goes on around her. “My songs are always about something I have seen, done, or felt – or something that I saw someone else do or go through. There is always truth to every song I write, even if it isn’t my truth.” Since she first began writing songs a little over a decade ago she has composed over 300 songs. Her songs have been recorded by numerous artists including Alison Krauss and Union Station (“My Poor Old Heart” from Lonely Runs Both Ways), Seldom Scene (“Sad Old Train”) and so many more.

Guitar legend, Tony Rice produced Donna’s “Gaining Wisdom” album (Rounder Records) released in 2007. “In Donna,” Rice says, “I heard something that was down to earth, with a definitive southern flavor to it. And yet there was something different about her voice and the way she structured her music that implied a more flexible, adventurous approach.” The resultant sound of Gaining Wisdom is deeply influenced by both Rice’s progressive acoustic sensibilities and Hughes’ own wide-ranging musical tastes.

All the while, Hughes cultivated a love of acoustic music born of hearing the bluegrass bands brought in to perform at her local church as she was growing up. Raised in a closely knit family in tiny Trinity, North Carolina, Hughes pursued music from an early age, picking out tunes on the family piano at age three and, in her words, “annoying my parents all through my childhood by singing all over the house! I never sang in front of an actual audience until 1996, in church – and I was scared to death. Around that time I started looking for places to sing. I would drive several hours to sing one cover song at a barn dance, or a country music hall. I sang every chance I got…”

Despite earning a B.A. in History and embarking on a career in real estate, plus her current role as gymnastics coach, music was and is never far from her mind. She began writing and recording in earnest in 1996, cutting an album’s worth of songs that proved to be more of a learning experience than a career-builder. Continuing to write relentlessly, Hughes spent five years gathering material for her first bluegrass album, 2001’s Somewhere in Time. That album picked up word-of-mouth buzz and won her a devoted following among both bluegrass fans and critics, and was followed by the twenty-one track collection Same Old Me in 2003. Union Station bassist Barry Bales heard a track from Same Old Me on WNCW’s bluegrass program, and brought Hughes to the attention of Alison Krauss, who quickly became a fan of Hughes’ powerful, insightful songcraft.

Hughes sees different instruments as a means of stimulating different approaches and perspectives in her songs. “When I speak at songwriting workshops,” she says, “I like to tell people to write songs on as many different instruments as they can play. Wri