Red Molly
Encyclopedia
Red Molly is a folk trio consisting of Laurie MacAllister (vocals, guitar, banjo), Abbie Gardner (vocals, guitar, Dobro, lap steel guitar), and Molly Venter (vocals, guitar). They perform original works composed by each of the group members, as well as covers of other songwriters including Hank Williams, Gillian Welch
and Ryan Adams
. Their fans are known as "Redheads."
. MacAllister, Gardner, and Carolann Solebello, three solo singer-songwriters, were the last ones left at a song circle. They liked the way they sounded together and decided to form a band. The name Red Molly is taken from a character in the Richard Thompson song "1952 Vincent Black Lightning."
Their career started to take off in 2006. They were the top vote getters in the 2006 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
Emerging Artist Showcase. WUMB in Boston named them Top New Artist of the Year and picked their Album Never Been to Vegas as one of their Top Albums of 2006. They have appeared in John Platt's Under the Radar series in New York, a showcase for up and coming musicians.
In 2007 they toured with Pat Wictor
and Ellis
, the other winners of the Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist showcase, on the Falcon Ridge Preview tour and performed with them in the Most Wanted Song Swap at the Festival itself.
Their album Love and Other Tragedies reached number 15 on the Americana Charts on June 30, 2008.
James reached number 4 on the same chart in May 2010.
Light In The Sky was released on October 4, 2011.
On June 15, 2010 Red Molly announced that Carolann Solebello would be leaving the group and replaced by Molly Venter. On July 24 Solebello announced to the crowd at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
it was her last show with the band and concluded: "I know about 75% of you by face, and I wanted my last show to be with my friends here at Falcon Ridge, not at some small club in some country I didn't know anybody." Solebello continues to perform as a solo artist and released her third solo album "Threshold", in June 2011.
Molly Venter's debut with the trio was on August 6, 2010 at the Lunenburg Folk Festival.
Gillian Welch
Gillian Welch is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, Bluegrass, and Americana, is described by The New Yorker as "at once innovative and obliquely...
and Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams is an American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter, from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Initially part of the group Whiskeytown, Adams left the band and released his first solo album Heartbreaker in 2000...
. Their fans are known as "Redheads."
History
Red Molly was formed late one night at the 2004 Falcon Ridge Folk FestivalFalcon Ridge Folk Festival
The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival and dance festival formerly held at the Long Hill Farm in Hillsdale, New York, USA. In 2006, the event moved to nearby Dodds Farm, just off Rt. 22, five miles north of the Rt. 22/Rt. 23 intersection in Hillsdale, on...
. MacAllister, Gardner, and Carolann Solebello, three solo singer-songwriters, were the last ones left at a song circle. They liked the way they sounded together and decided to form a band. The name Red Molly is taken from a character in the Richard Thompson song "1952 Vincent Black Lightning."
Their career started to take off in 2006. They were the top vote getters in the 2006 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival and dance festival formerly held at the Long Hill Farm in Hillsdale, New York, USA. In 2006, the event moved to nearby Dodds Farm, just off Rt. 22, five miles north of the Rt. 22/Rt. 23 intersection in Hillsdale, on...
Emerging Artist Showcase. WUMB in Boston named them Top New Artist of the Year and picked their Album Never Been to Vegas as one of their Top Albums of 2006. They have appeared in John Platt's Under the Radar series in New York, a showcase for up and coming musicians.
In 2007 they toured with Pat Wictor
Pat Wictor
Pat Wictor is a Venezuelan-born American blues and folk musician, guitarist, singer/songwriter, and recording artist. His father's career in the oil industry led to his family living in not only Venezuela but also, Holland, Norway, Texas, and England before returning to the United States in his...
and Ellis
Ellis
Ellis is a first name and surname of Welshoriginal spelling. At the time of the British Census of 1881, its relative frequency was highest in Merioneth , followed by Flintshire, Denbighshire, Caernarfonshire, Montgomeryshire, Anglesey, Devon, Kinross-shire, Shropshire and Yorkshire...
, the other winners of the Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist showcase, on the Falcon Ridge Preview tour and performed with them in the Most Wanted Song Swap at the Festival itself.
Their album Love and Other Tragedies reached number 15 on the Americana Charts on June 30, 2008.
James reached number 4 on the same chart in May 2010.
Light In The Sky was released on October 4, 2011.
On June 15, 2010 Red Molly announced that Carolann Solebello would be leaving the group and replaced by Molly Venter. On July 24 Solebello announced to the crowd at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival and dance festival formerly held at the Long Hill Farm in Hillsdale, New York, USA. In 2006, the event moved to nearby Dodds Farm, just off Rt. 22, five miles north of the Rt. 22/Rt. 23 intersection in Hillsdale, on...
it was her last show with the band and concluded: "I know about 75% of you by face, and I wanted my last show to be with my friends here at Falcon Ridge, not at some small club in some country I didn't know anybody." Solebello continues to perform as a solo artist and released her third solo album "Threshold", in June 2011.
Molly Venter's debut with the trio was on August 6, 2010 at the Lunenburg Folk Festival.
Discography
- Red Molly 4 song EP - 2005
- Never Been To Vegas Live Album - 2006
- Love and Other Tragedies - 2008
- James - 2010
- Light In The Sky - 2011