Lucy Ray
vocals, mandolin
“I
was born and raised in North Carolina, where I heard traditional and gospel
music from before I can remember. My Daddy worked for the railroad; he was
a church-goer and was always playing and singing the gospel songs. He liked
the old country music — all of it, from Bill Monroe to the Gospelaires.
Now and then, we would go to a rural Baptist church to hear the singing,
but Mama, who was a Methodist, ruled the roost, so mostly Sunday was ‘Methodist
Preacher’ and ‘Methodist Pie’ and lunch with the congregation.
As I made my own way, I started attending fiddlers’ convention in and around Galax, ‘hanging out’, singing under the tress, making some field recordings and having ‘dinner on the ground’. One of my best friends was a ‘Greengrass Clogger’, and she was learning banjo from Tommy Jarrell — who I now know to be a true legend of old-time music. I liked it so much, I moved to Elk Creek, Virginia, to live and finish my nursing studies.Music subsequently drew me to Florida, south-west Virginia, central and coastal North Carolina (that’s where we got the name KittyHawks).
I came to London over 20 years ago, married and raised my family; I took
up mandolin and started singing again. When I became a member of the Friends
of American Old-Time Music and Dance, I found a whole new family that comes
together to share their love and passion for the music through singing and
dancing around the campfire, under the moon and stars.
Sounds like magic? Come by and listen awhile and judge for yourself."