An Interview with Cia Cherryholmes
Songs of the Fall, Cherryholmes Reunion,
and the Outer Banks Bluegrass Island Festival
(Photo courtesy of the Outer Banks Bluegrass Island Facebook page.)
The Outer Banks brings much to the mind. Vacation, beaches, the salty smell of the ocean, and bluegrass. That's right, bluegrass music. There's this beautiful little island in North Carolina (I've never been there, this year will be my first) where over 30 bands with gather to play and sing in just a 4-day period. Yes, it's that awesome. Non-stop bluegrass and mountain music from dawn 'til dusk and then some.
The Outer Banks Bluegrass Island Festival will be held September 23rd to 26th. You can find out more or order your tickets on their website www.bluegrassisland.com. You can even check out a video of the island and venue here. But this year, there will be a first at this festival. There will be a stunning variety of some of the best bluegrass groups, but there will be one special event that you won't want to miss. The Cherryholmes family will be holding their first (and only, as of right now) Reunion Show on Saturday, September 26th.
The Cherryholmes was a family band that began in 1999. They began their journey together in music as a result of a family tragedy. "Cherryholmes first started playing music as a family in 1999 due to a family tragedy. One of our siblings passed away and as a part of our grieving/healing process, we played music together. We never intended for it to end up on the scale that it did. It just happened sort of naturally." - Cia Cherryholmes
During their 12 years together, Cherryholmes put out a total of 9 albums, starting with Spirit High Ridge (1999), a home-produced cassette, and ending with Cherryholmes IV: Common Threads (2010), their 4th recording with Skaggs Family Records. During this time, they made many fans, traveled many miles, and produced many songs that are still held in high regard by all those who have had the privilege of hearing them. In January of 2011, they made the decision to disband the family band in order to let each member pursue their own path in music. [All of the children who played in the family band are currently in music today.] Cherryholmes held their last show together on May 7th, 2011 in Galax, VA.
On September 26th, 2015, the family band will once again play. Many former fans are looking forward to hearing them once again, and many fans that found out about them after they disbanded (this is where I fit in) are looking forward to meeting them. I recently had the privilege of having an e-mail interview with Cia Cherryholmes (banjo-player and lead vocalist) regarding the upcoming reunion show and the current band that she has with her husband Stetson, Songs of the Fall.
Brandon Merritt [BM] - Through the last few years, you and your husband Stetson have been playing and singing as Songs Of The Fall. How did this come about?
Cia Cherryholmes [Cia] - Stetson and I met through a
mutual friend in the music industry. When we started dating, music
wasn't involved at all. It wasn't until about 9 months in when we
were both working on a ranch together in NM that we started working
on music together as a couple. We started out just writing songs
together and then started performing and have been doing it ever
since.
BM - Songs Of The Fall spreads across several genres of music, and you have, of course, created your own unique sound. What can folks expect to hear in your current music?
Cia - The music I do with Songs of the
Fall is somewhat different than what I did with
Cherryholmes. Since I play the banjo, my music will always
have a bluegrass flair - and we do some uptempo bluegrass songs - but I
have enjoyed branching out into a more Americana/Indie style of music
now. Sometimes we play as a duo or an acoustic quartet and other
times, it's a 5 piece with electric guitar, bass, and drums. It's fun
being versatile!
BM - As the music festival and show season is now in full swing with the summer, where can folks find Songs Of The Fall?
Cia - We play all over the country but are
actually playing quite a bit in NC in the coming year. We have our
first tour in Europe planned for Spring of 2016. We keep
www.songsofthefall.com updated with our dates.
BM - Cia, a lot of folks know you for your lead vocals, but you are also well known for you banjo playing. It seems that in bluegrass and similar genres there are not many women banjo players. (Though the ones out there are excellent!) What drew you to the banjo, and what are some of the things that have influenced your style of playing?
Cia - Being in a family band, I was kind of
"stuck" with the banjo. My brother BJ was originally
supposed to learn it but didn't have a lot of interest in it so it
fell to me. I feel like I was influenced by a lot of the well-knowns - JD Crowe, Sonny Osbourne, Don Reno - and have over the years developed
my own quirks and nuances to make the style I have now.
BM - Over the years I'm sure that you've seen some changes in the music industry overall. What would you say are some of the positive changes, as well as some of the negative?
Cia - Positive changes would be the ease and
access of music and interaction through outlets like social media. I
feel though, that all of the streaming and free music have hurt
musicians and their livelihoods. It's a catch 22. You want to expose
your music to people all over the world, but you also need to pay
bills and be able to afford to put out music for people to listen to.
BM - Alright, let's switch subjects and talk a little about the upcoming Cherryholmes Reunion Show at the Outer Banks Bluegrass Island Festival this coming September. As of right now, it is the one and only reunion show planned. What do you find special about having the family all play the same venue together again?
Cia - Outer Banks is the only reunion show we
are planning on. I won't say it is the only one that could ever
happen, but right now it's the only one on the table, and there are
no plans for a reunion tour. That being said, we are all really
looking forward to this show and have been putting in quite a bit of
rehearsal time together! It's been fun playing all the old songs and
putting a show together.
BM - As the family is preparing for this show, is everyone making all the plans, or is there a particular member leading the way?
Cia - We are all putting in ideas and input,
but I'd have to say that Skip is the one in charge and keeping us all
in check. We've elected him as band leader this time around.
BM - As the rehearsals for the reunion show are underway, could you give folks a glimpse of what we will be hearing in September?
Cia - We put our show list together based off
of requests we got from people on social media. We wanted to make
sure we were hitting the songs that were favorites with everyone.
With two hours of music, we are hoping to do something that makes
everyone happy!
BM - I'm sure that there will be many old Cherryholmes fans at the show, and I'm positivie that the family will aslo gain many new fans. As this reunion comes together, when the songs are played and the show is over, what is it that you wish for the listeners to take away from this special occasion?
Cia - This show is truly a reunion for us.
Some of us live kind of far from each other now - Mom, Dad, BJ, and
Molly are in the Nashville area, but Skip is in NC and I'm in
Colorado - so this will be the first family trip we've done together
in 4 years. My hope is that people will not only enjoy the show but
also feel like they were all a part of this. So many of the people
attending were our on the road family for years and this will be a
reunion for all of us!
A special thank you to Cia Cherryholmes for her time in this interview. And a special thank you to all those who have put in the work to make the Outer Banks Bluegrass Island Festival come together! See you there!
Please take a moment to check out the links below.
This article was written by Brandon Merritt, August 2015. Brandon Merritt is an amateur writer, a bluegrass enthusiast, and an aspiring musician.
