Violet Rae Downey, Vickie Ellis, and Roberta Schultz are three women who live to sing together. A background in musical theater drives Violet's dramatic sense of song and fuels her incredible range as her percussive guitar pounds out the heart beat for the trio. Vickie combines classical piano training, a passion for folk instruments (banjo and banjuke) and her background in radio and theater to add spice and nuance to arrangements and homey chat to performances. Roberta’s finger-picking guitar styles, soulful song writing and Native drums(including a few that she made) craft Raison D’Etre’s Americana feel.Described by one critic as “divinely stirring,†their singing defines Raison D’Etre. According to Mike Breen of Cincinnati CityBeat, this folk trio offers “some of the finest three-part harmony singing you’ll likely ever hear.†In a typical performance, the women invite you around the hearth of heart and home through their songs about life’s journey, love, and loss. Even their carefully selected covers from Mark Weierman, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Jesse Winchester echo a sense of place and rebirth. Traditional folk songs, a capella swing tunes, and Shaker hymns round out their versatile repertoire, all delivered in their pure Kentucky blend.From 2000-2006, Raison D'Etre hosted the popular COFFEE CUP CONCERT SERIES in Northern Kentucky's Behringer-Crawford Museum, Covington. While showcasing the diverse blend of folk, acoustic, jazz and singer songwriter musical heritage of the Ohio Valley Region, the series has also featured such national headliners as folk performance artist, Christine Lavin and Grammy winner, Bill Miller.Outside of Kentucky, this folk trio appears at arts venues and festivals from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. They are MOVA Song Writing Festival(Guntersville, AL)finalists for 2007 for “Legacy†and “This Kind of Rain.†Violet Rae went on to win her category(Children’s/Humor) with “Legacy†while Roberta took third place honors in Folk/Bluegrass with “This Kind of Rain.†“Be True†by Roberta Schultz won an Honor Award from the Great American Song Contest in 2006 and appears on SouthernArtistry.org’s first CD compilation which was distributed at Performing Arts Exchange in Baltimore, 2006.The trio regularly presents swing music outreach programs for schools, senior centers and libraries as “The Swing Canaries.â€
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