Abbie Gardner

Come celebrate the release of the record she’s always dreamed of making. Using a tiny closet recording studio in her home in the shadow of NYC, Abbie gathered a collection of songs and recorded them raw - singing and playing without a band, without separating the voice from her instrument, and without any studio tricks to hide behind.

You might recognize Abbie from the female harmony trio Red Molly. That’s where she's honed her skills since 2004 - writing songs, singing and playing the lap-style resonator guitar often referred to as a Dobro. It’s typically an instrument you’d find in the midst of 5-piece bluegrass band, but here Abbie pushes the boundaries and uses it on her own, without any accompaniment.

“DobroSinger is a naked little roller coaster of an album, when we get to hear how good Abbie Gardner really is. By turns awkward, raucous, fragile, and forceful, it sounds like Abbie is in the room with me, maybe sharing a stage and, honestly, I don’t want to follow her. Nobody wants to follow her.” - Jonathan Byrd, Songwriter

The opening track, “Down the Mountain” starts with a powerful bluesy stomp, but later begs, “send my prayers down the river in little paper boats, they’re too heavy for heaven so I hope they float.” The song earned her a slot in the 2021 IBMA Songwriter Showcase and was also featured on Phil Leadbetter’s “Masters of Slide” compilation CD. Down the Mountain was singled out as a “show stealer” in Michael K. Brantley’s Bluegrass Unlimited review. He goes on to say, “DobroSinger is going to be a must-have.”

Though the record was made alone, Abbie is grateful for the support of the Patrons who were there every step of the way. Each song has it’s own personal sponsor, named in the liner notes. And every week her Patrons got a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of creating “DobroSinger.”

Since her previous record, Abbie’s vocals and dobro playing have both matured to a place where they share the spotlight equally. Though in this case, the stage is a tiny recording studio and the spotlight is a candle.

"Dobrosinger is a master class in how to deliver a song, taught by an artist who is at the top of her game." - Ron Olesko, Folk Music Notebook