Bluegrass Band's Sister Sadie Forges Moves Forward After Personnel Changes With New Album 'No Fear': 'We Decided To Keep Moving Forward'

In 2020, bluegrass band Sister Sadie made history by becoming the first all-female band to win the International Bluegrass Music Association's (IBMA) coveted top honor: Entertainer of the Year. That same year, the group won vocal group of the year, while Sister Sadie member Deanie Richardson became the second woman in 30 years to win the IBMA violinist of the year award. The band originally formed in December 2012, with a lineup that included Gena Britt, Deanie Richardson, Dale Ann Bradley, Tina Adair and Beth Lawrence.

But over the past four years, Sister Sadie has weathered changes both external and internal — from pandemic shutdowns to the departures of team members, including Adair and Bradley. The group's two remaining founding members, Deanie Richardson and Gena Britt, have moved on with Sister Sadie — and in the process, welcome a new generation to the group's mission to spotlight talented female bluegrass players.

Fiddle player Richardson has spent years touring with the likes of Patty Loveless and Bob Seger, while banjoist/singer Britt's resume includes time as part of groups like New Vintage and The Daughters of Bluegrass. Rounding out Sister Sadie are younger members Jaelee Roberts (guitar/vocals), Dani Flowers (guitar/vocals) and the group's newest member, 19-year-old Maddie Dalton (bass/vocals). Roberts joined in 2020, followed by Flowers in 2022 and 2023, Dalton.

“Personnel changes are always difficult because everything changes—the energy, the sound,” says Richardson Advertising sign via Zoom. “With personnel changes, it's like, 'Do we call it or do we try to reinvent this thing?' We decided to continue.”

The relationships with some of the younger members run deep, particularly with Roberts. “I grew up playing in a band [New Tradition] with Jaelee's dad when I was a teenager,” Richardson says, “and [Gena] grew up playing in a band [Petticoat Junction] with Jaelee's mom when she was a teenager, and now we're in a band with Jaelee.”

The group's latest album, Without fearreleased on January 26, marks the group's first full-length project with their new label Mountain Home, where they signed to in 2022.

“With all the personnel changes that happened, we felt it was time for a change,” says Richardson of leaving his former label Pinecastle Records and joining Mountain Home. “Gena and I went to Mountain Home and we just thought it would be a good place to land. We started making calls, talking to labels and seeing which family felt right to work with, and it felt right.”

For some of the younger members, making the album came with career milestones and unique challenges.

“The funny part is, they all went into the studio and recorded, and I had my college finals, so I couldn't go to the first round, but the second round of the session I went in and I just loved hearing all of this music come to life.” , Roberts said, while Dalton called the sessions “a whirlwind of experience and so much fun,” noting that making the album marked her first time playing bass in a professional studio, just two weeks after joining Sister. Sadie.

The album's 13 tracks range from simple bluegrass to folk, traditional country and more, anchored by each band member's distinct musical bent.

“It's a reflection of all of us, because our individual personalities come out on the record,” Britt said. “We just love the songs and the songwriters. When we make a record, we start a Dropbox and everyone starts dropping songs that we love into that Dropbox and we start picking stuff. There's some electric guitar on this album, some piano and drums and a B-3 organ—some things are way outside the Sister Sadie box, but I like where she's headed.”

Some of these beloved compositions come from the country genre, including Cam's 2017 single “Diane,” which flips the script on Dolly Parton's classic “Jolene.”

“I was playing in the band at the Opry and I was in one night and Cam went off and I was playing mandolin. He played this song and I fell to the floor. I thought, “That sounds like an old pop song from the 70s.” I sent it to the girls and they loved it as much as I did. The song wasn't a big hit, but we really liked it and it was a crowd favorite.”

Two other songs, “Willow” and “Ode to the Ozarks,” were co-written by Grammy-winning country singer-songwriter Ashley McBryde, who also lends vocals to “Ode to the Ozarks.”

“Ashley is one of my best friends,” Flowers says, recalling that the two met at a songwriting session and that McBryde contributed to “Something to Lose,” which appeared on her 2018 album. Sister Sadie II“We love her and she's always been such a big supporter and she came to my first show with Sister Sadie on [Nashville music venue] Station Inn and sang with us at the Opry. It's a big part of Sister Sadie – it's Sister Ashley.

“When I saw Sister Sadie live for the first time, I was like, 'OK, now I'm obsessed,'” McBryde said. Advertising sign through a statement. “I found out through Dani Flowers (we've been friends for over a decade) that they were thinking of cutting 'Willow', a song I had written several years ago. Then I found out they were also going to cut 'Ode to the Ozarks' and I was so tickled. Dini called and asked if I would come and sing “Ode to the Ozarks” and I was blown away. I love the whole record and I'm still obsessed with Sister Sadie.”

“If We Ain't Drinkin' Then We're Fighting” is an earlier song, written by Richardson and former Sister member Sadie Adair.

“I was in a marriage that just went south and it wasn't in a good place,” Richardson says. “The only thing we really looked forward to every day was 'What are we drinking tonight?' What cocktail are we making?” and I said to Tina one day, “There's no fun here. If we don't drink, we fight. And it was like, “Oh my god, let's write this.” So it was a quick write-up and had some comedic undertones. The feel is more Reno and Smiley, just real swinging old-school bluegrass.”

Dalton takes the lead on “Mississippi River Long,” a song Flowers wrote when she was 19.

“Maddie came in as we were finishing the record,” Flowers says. “We knew she was a great bass player, but I didn't realize how great a singer she is until we heard her at a festival and knew she had to sing on this record. I'm so happy that this song has new life.”

The team's accolades are a testament to the skill and determination of its members, especially in a male-dominated genre. Richardson says the female composition of the group was not a deterrent.

“I'm a gay woman in bluegrass music and I've never had a problem,” Richardson says. “I don't feel like being women hasn't really held us back. The only thing I have noticed is that they will only book one female band at a festival. That's the only downside I've ever seen. We have a long career. For me and for us, I don't feel like there was ever a problem. I know it was for a lot of people, but we're just trying to stay positive and see what happens.”

Even while winning top awards from the IBMAs, Sister Sadie had no booking agent or manager and was booking shows and facilitating her own business operations. That has changed, as they are now signed to Madison House for booking and have begun working with manager Chris Segal. The members of Sister Sadie say they are committed to moving forward, even as they balance roles as musicians with other responsibilities, including jobs (Richardson works at a bank and Britt at an eyeglass store), school and family.

“We do what we can and we also have jobs and kids,” Richardson said. “We started this thing as a pet project. We were like, “Let's get these amazing women together and play when we can.” Then that grew into tour dates and records and IBMA awards, but it was organic and we never really went 100% into it. So we had this conversation “What if we got managers and agents and the right mix of amazing, talented, strong women and we really did this 100%? What could happen? So that's where we're going.”