All-female band The Balsamroots is coming to the Trap Bar at Grand Targhee Resort later this week.
Voted best musical act of Teton Valley, Idaho in both 2022 and 2023, the four-piece band blends together original and traditional bluegrass, Americana and old-time music.
Formed in 2018, the band consists of four women connected through friendship and a shared love of acoustic-driven music. The band features Mary Neil on vocals and guitar, Sage Hibberd on vocals and banjo, Becky Hendricks on vocals and fiddle, and Mollie Houkom on bass.
“When it’s all women, there’s just a special feeling about that,” Hendricks said before a live performance at the KHOL studios.
Each band member brings expertise in a variety of genres and instruments like banjo, fiddle and upright bass. Hendricks said that set them apart and led to many early opportunities for the group to share their talents with the community.
“There was this organic evolution where a bunch of women played all the different instruments and [were able to build] momentum,” she said.
The Balsamroots draw inspiration from the storytelling qualities of music legends like John Prine, Dolly Parton and Kate Wolf.
“We love a good story accompanied by pretty melodies, hard-driving melodies,” Hendricks said.
She said old-time Americana music not only comes from the South and the Blue Ridge Mountains but also evolved with the arrival of countless musicians immigrating to the U.S. from other countries.
“I see it as this tapestry type of music [where] stories are told differently over time but it’s almost like an oral tradition,” Hendricks said. “I love to see it moving forward and different generations interpreting it differently and people still really gravitating towards it.”
The Balsamroots will perform at the Trap Bar at Grand Targhee Resort from 3 to 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15 and Saturday, Dec.16.
Listen above for KHOL’s full conversation with and performances by The Balsamroots.
