Mary Meyer, Hasee Ciacco, Jaelee Roberts, Deanie Richardson, Gena Britt
Sometimes the most fruitful creative projects are happy accidents. Such is the case for the widely renowned bluegrass outfit Sister Sadie, who first came together on a whim, just more than a decade ago, to play at Nashville bluegrass institution the Station Inn. Since then, the band has become one of the genre’s most exciting acts, winning awards and breaking records across the community.
“We started at the Station Inn with no intention of doing dates or making records,” vocalist and fiddler Deanie Richardson tells the Scene. “It was just friends [saying], ‘Let’s get together and play a night at the Station Inn.’ We’ve known each other our whole lives, and it was just a magical thing from the first downbeat at rehearsal, before we even went up there. … It was just all about the music and our friendship and how much we loved playing music together. And then all this other stuff starts happening.”
That “other stuff” includes a Grammy nomination, multiple IBMA Award wins and inclusion in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s American Currents: State of the Music exhibit. In 2019, the band became the first all-female act to win Vocal Group of the Year at the IBMAs, which they’ve now won three years in a row. That came in the wake of their most recent album, 2018’s Grammy-nominated Sister Sadie II.
The band recently signed with respected ’grass-centric record label Mountain Home Music, with whom they’ll release new recordings — likely a full-length album — later this year. Though details on the project are scant for now, Richardson assures that the music will be worth the wait. She and the rest of the band are already at work honing the track list, which will be made up of covers and a handful of original new tunes.
“We’ve talked with [Mountain Home] several times over the last few years,” says vocalist and banjo player Gena Britt. “They put their confidence in us and vice versa, as far as being able to work together. In that respect, it was a good fit. They support us and the direction that we want to go.”
The band is set to begin recording what’s expected to be its third album in August, and it will mark a notable evolution for the group. Since the last release, founding members Dale Ann Bradley (guitar, vocals) and Tina Adair (mandolin, vocals) stepped away to focus on their solo work. The upcoming studio project will be Sister Sadie’s first with its new band members Mary Meyer (mandolin, vocals), Hasee Ciaccio (bass, vocals) and Jaelee Roberts (guitar, vocals). Like their predecessors, each of them brings a boatload of honors, and Richardson and Britt credit them with bringing new energy to the band.
“We have different vocalists, new personnel,” Richardson says. “So I think the direction for Sadie is changing. We’ve always been a more traditional bluegrass kind of band. … I think we have some opportunities to mix up some things a little bit.”
Days before our conversation, Richardson played fiddle as part of the house band at the annual Country Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony. It was a bittersweet occasion, as inductee and country legend Naomi Judd had died just a day earlier. While the mood was certainly somber, Richardson says all who gathered were still comforted by their shared passion for and connection to country music.
“That’s a day that I look forward to and treasure all year,” she says. “Getting to be a part of that house band is one of the most incredible honors of my life. … Naomi’s death brought sadness, but it was also very sweet. Everybody there was just gracious and sweet. … I felt like it was a large family sitting there, mourning the loss of an amazing human being, but also celebrating the careers of these other amazing human beings.”
As if they didn’t have enough on their plates in this busy season, the band also recently played MerleFest. It was their first appearance at the famed long-running North Carolina roots music festival. In addition to the thrill of discovering new acts, Richardson and Britt were both just happy to be onstage again, following the halt in live music brought by the pandemic.
“To be musicians and not be onstage in front of an audience — not having that experience and that energy for two years now — that’s hard for folks like us,” Richardson says. “And it’s just good to feed that part of your soul again. It fills me up, just being onstage with these ladies. It’s pretty electrifying.”
Sister Sadie will bring that electrifying energy back to the Station Inn on Friday. Richardson and Britt agree the show is a full-circle moment for the band, in which they’ll bring their revitalized lineup back to the stage where their story started.
“It’s a pretty special place for Deanie and I both,” Britt says. “We have a lot of history there. I’ve been going there since I was a teenager, and she’s been going since she was a little girl. So we’re excited to get back there.”
