Welcome back Whipstitch Sallies!
Shortly after JHMF1, Patti and I came on-board the JHMF Sternwheel Steamboat to help out wherever we could. As an emcee for year 2 back in 2012, I was assigned the Boogie Stage. At that time, the stage was simply a 10x20 pole canopy, powered by John Hotze’s Boze tower sound system. The very first band I brought on was a group of very friendly, earthy and honest but elegant, ladies who called themselves the Whipstitch Sallies. This was their first year to perform at the John Hartford Memorial Festival. We became good friends and even shared some stage time together!
The Whipstitch Sallies were central Indiana’s “bluegrass rockers with panache” (The Indianapolis paper NUVO) with electrifying presence, traditional instruments, and tight harmonies.
The Whipstitch Sallies are:
Allie Lee, (now playing full time with Frank and Allie Lee, and The Freight Hoppers) clawhammer banjo virtuoso, guitar, harp and vocals.
Sam Herrin (now playing with Silver Sparrow and Bluegill in the Slaw), picking out blistering mandolin licks and vocals.
Katie Burk (now playing with The Backstep Sisters) bowing out spirited fiddle leads and vocals.
Kat Erikson (taking a break from performing full-time) driving the rhythm on stand-up bass and vocals.
The Whipstitch Sallies are all very good songwriters, with Allie and Katie having made our John Hartford Songwriter’s Challenge showcase, (Allie twice!)
The Whipstitch Sallies musical proficiency and sibling-like harmonies, along with mighty fine songwriting, which combined stirs the term Old Time Punk, quickly earned them the love of our fest family to the point that they were booked consecutively through JHMF 6, which was their last fest as band. Life deals and we play. The Sallies went different directions with their individual lives, but have remained close friends. Enter Randy Kilper. Randy is a co-promoter, artists relations manager, do-it-all and do-it-now, JHMF team member since day 1. Last year Randy approached the girls and asked about coming together for a JHMF year 10 special reunion. The ladies got together and worked it out and are we ever pumped up to have the Whipstitch Sallies reunion take place at JHMF10!
I contacted Kat Erickson and gleaned a little more info.
EH- How did the reunion come about? Did you approach the fest or did they approach you?
Kat- Randy approached us asking about the possibility of a reunion last year. We live far apart now and it didn’t seem very feasible, but we all realized we miss playing together. We talked about it and when we realized we were all on board, we couldn’t pass it up. I guess we can thank JHMF for bringing us back together!
EH- Should we expect classic Sallies or all new stuff? or both?
Kat- We’ll be pulling our favorites from old set lists, like “Got Me a Letter”, “Oh, Mercy”, “Endless in the Lowlands”, and “Piney Flats”.
EH-Will there be Sallies gigs leading up to this, and beyond?
Kat- We do have one pre-JHMF show lined up at Duke’s in Indy on Tuesday, May 26th. That will be a ticketed show, and we’ll be posting details on our Facebook page as the date draws nearer.
EH- What have The Sallies been up to lately?
Kat- Katie’s band, “The Half Step Sisters” has a new EP “Bookends” out now. Check it out on Spotify. Allie plays with her husband Frank Lee in several projects right now. They have a new album “Treat a Stranger Right” set to drop in February. You can catch them with their full band, “The Freight Hoppers” at the Indiana Fiddler’s Gathering in 2020 and JHMF10!. Keep an eye out for Sam playing with “Silver Sparrow” around Brown County and Bloomington! If you’re lucky, you might even see her slappin’ bass with “Bluegill in the Slaw”.
The Whipstitch Sallies were annual crowd favorites at the John Hartford Memorial Festival. Always handy with a smile and greeting, The Whipstitch Sallies have a natural way about them, of stirring up the music spirit in one’s soul. As a matter of fact, it is way too easy, at any festival, to become so acclimated to the constant music coming from the stages that one can easily miss an act while visiting with an old friend. I recall such a visit coming to a sudden halt as the air filled with spine tingling harmonies, a cappella into to “Long Hot Summer Day”. I looked to the Hartford Stage and the Whipstitch Sallies had just opened with that song. If you see them before their sets, shout it out! Their version is one of the tightest and most stirring I have ever heard!
Ernie Hill