We were proud to recently find out that the Lonesome Sisters were voted BEST ACOUSTIC DUO OF 2006 by GIBSON GUITARS!http://www.gibson.com/allaccessfeatures.aspx?aliaspa
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LONESOME SISTERS NEWS: "Follow Me Down" voted best original song in the Clifftop WV Appalachian Stringband Festival Songwriting Contest. August 2006.*******************************************************
**********The Lonesome Sisters, Sarah Hawker and Debra Clifford, are known for their hard hitting high old time country and mountain harmonies and their love of singing about tragedy and heartache in all its forms. They have performed at venues such as the Newport Folk Festival and the Kaufman Center, Merkin Hall in NYC. They have played with Jesse Winchester, The Levon Helm Band, Hazel Dickens, Alice Gerrard, Laurie Lewis, Dudley Connell, Marshall Wilborn, Tony Trishka, Mike Marshal & Darol Anger, and Riley Baugus.
They have recorded three CDs on their own record label, Tin Halo Music. Their CD The Lonesome Sisters with Riley Baugus was chosen as a top ten DIY albums of the year for 2005 in Performing Songwriter. They have just recorded their third CD with fiddler Rayna Gellert, which was just released in June 2006.
The Lonesome Sisters have been compared to Gillian Welch and Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard, among others. They play annually at the Grassroots Festival in Trumansburg New York. Please go to their website, www.lonesomesisters.com to check for other performances.
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Sarah Hawker learned about traditional Appalachian singing from her aunt Ginny Hawker, her uncle Tracy Schwarz (New Lost City Ramblers)and her grandfather, Ben Hawker, beloved Primitive Baptist singer, teacher, and teller of tall tales. She has successfully entwined the roots of her family heritage with her own original work, winning the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest (Merlefest 2004) for her song "Forgiveness," and having her song "Going Home Shoes" featured in Sing Out! magazine (Fall 2004). Along with singing and songwriting, Sarah plays guitar and clawhammer banjo. She divides her time between Ithaca and Woodstock NY.
Debra Clifford has played in many bluegrass, early country and old time contra dance bands in the Upstate NY and Ithaca area. She has performed with Ginny Hawker & Tracy Schwarz, Mac Benford (The Highwoods Stringband), and recorded a CD with the old time string band jimmyjohnnnyjoe. Debra is a songwriter, as well as a singer. She plays an old Gibson acoustic guitar, mandolin, and fretless clawhammer banjo in the Lonesome Sisters. She lives in Woodstock, NY, in the beautiful Catskill Mountains.
