Album Notes

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***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.

Sarah Hawker learned about traditional Appalachian singing from her aunt Ginny Hawker, her uncle Tracy Schwarz, 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, 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.

FOLLOW ME DOWN: THE LONESOME SISTERS WITH RAYNA GELLERT

SARAH sings lead vocals, except for GOING ACROSS THE MT (Rayna) and DARLIN' DON'T YOU KNOW (Debra)

DEBRA sings harmony vocals, plays mandolin, and guitar on most.

Sarah plays guitar on FOLLOW ME DOWN, ILLUMINATION, I'LL WAIT and TONIGHT YOU'RE GONNA LOSE ME.

RAYNA plays fiddle, and sings lead on GOING ACROSS THE MOUNTAIN.

SARAH plays banjo on LIKE THIS.

DEBRA plays a fretless Kevin Enoch nylon string banjo on REUBEN'S TRAIN.

RECORDED BY CHAD CRUMM AT THE MUSIC TANK