About the Persimmon Sisters….
The Persimmons Sisters are one of the most unique bluegrass acts to come out of Owensboro, Ky. in recent years, featuring a mostly all-girl line up and powerful vocal harmonies that make an impression on audiences. This is what an “angel band” would sound like if they played bluegrass music!

The Persimmons draw their material from a wide variety of sources, including The Carter Family, Bill Monroe, Kenny Baker, traditional gospel songs and original songs. Their core instrumentation consists of fiddle, acoustic guitars and acoustic bass, with Joel Whittinghill (also known as “The Bearded Persimmon Sister”) often guesting on mandolin or twin fiddle, Jennifer Kennedy on Dobro or Nashville-based Casey Henry on the five-string banjo. Legendary banjo player Vic Jordan (formerly with Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, Jim & Jesse, Jimmy Martin’s Sunny Mountain Boys…and the Wayne Newton Orchestra!) sits in on banjo on the Persimmon Sisters’ new album.

When the Persimmon Sisters get together, it’s always a good time—with equal parts oatmeal raisin cookies, banana homemade ice cream, peach iced tea, conversation, laughter and music. Their comfortable friendship and sense of humor translates easily to the stage. Audiences of all ages love this band, and they’ve developed a strong following in the Owensboro area, in particular. (Perhaps you, too, would like to be a “Persimmon Head!”)

Fiddle player Cathy Rogier, formerly with Arnold Chin Band, is a disciple of Bluegrass Hall of Famer Kenny Baker and it shows in her style—which combines a classical improvisational touch with hard-driving, straight-ahead bluegrass. Cathy is a science teacher at Daviess County Middle School who travels on bird-watching adventures around the world with her family during vacation. When not onstage with The Persimmon Sisters, Cathy can be found in the orchestra pit at Owensboro Christian Church, where she is an active part of the music ministry. Cathy is the best gardener in The Persimmon Sisters, and she is the only band member who has a Geiger Counter in her house!

Guitarist and vocalist Anita Owens supervises school nurses for the Daviess County Health Department. Growing up in the popular Fordsville, Ky.-based band, New Generation Bluegrass, she has literally been playing and singing bluegrass music all her life. Anita has accompanied her brother, Joel at a number of fiddle contests across the country for several years—which he usually wins. Her solid and authoritative rhythm guitar playing is the backbone of the band. Anita was also honored in 1996 to be asked to sing “Blue Moon of Kentucky” at the graveside of Bill Monroe, at his funeral in Rosine, Ky. Anita's bluegrass roots show in her powerful, chill-bump raising, traditional-edged voice. Her rendition of “Mule Skinner Blues” is not easily forgotten! In fact, it’s requested again and again. Anita tells the funniest pet stories in the band, about her spoiled Bassett Hound, Sophie.

Nancy Cardwell, who plays acoustic bass with The Persimmon Sisters, is another “lifer” when it comes to bluegrass. She grew up in a family band in the Missouri Ozarks, performing on her father’s live radio show in the 1960s and also at Branson theme parks and for the National Parks Service. Nancy played country rock during college and later joined the popular Springfield, Mo.-based band, Homegrown, followed by Mountain Aire (Branson), The Wildwood Girls (national touring band based in east Tennessee), The Bluegrass Zombies, The Mullets and Midnight Flight (Missouri). The Wildwood Girls were on staff at Dollywood during the week and played festivals across the U.S. on weekends in the early ‘90s. They also toured military bases in Central America for the U.S. Department of Defense while Nancy was playing bass in the band. Midnight Flight won the Branson Regional Pizza Hut International Showdown in 1994 and went on to compete at finals in Owensboro, Ky. In addition to freelancing on bass with various groups in Nashville (Billy Smith & Whistlepig, The Scott Partridge Band), Nancy also plays hammer dulcimer in a duo with her daughter, Erin, a gifted flautist and singer. Sometimes Erin appears with the Persimmon Sisters onstage, contributing vocals and bluegrass flute. At Christmas time Nancy sings the alto part in The Coventry Carolers, a Victorian-costumed a cappella caroling quartet with group members now in Springfield, Mo.; Owensboro, Ky. and Nashville, Tenn.

Nancy has served as the Special Projects Director for the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) since 1994, and she is a current member of the International Bluegrass Music Museum Board of Trustees in Owensboro, Ky. She has been a freelance writer since 1980 for Bluegrass Unlimited, she has a monthly column entitled “On My Mind” in Bluegrass Now magazine, and she freelances occasionly for Nashville's City at Night magazine. In 2006 Nancy received the Charlie Lamb Award for Country Music Journalism from the International Country Music Conference in Nashville. The band takes their name from a song Nancy wrote about missing the Ozarks, “Green Persimmon Trees"--the title cut of their new album.

Martha Gipson, the mild-mannered teacher's assistant and Yellow Creek Baptist choir member from Daviess County, is the band’s secret weapon in the vocal department. Audiences are simply spellbound when she steps to the mic for a lead, particularly on a cappella gospel numbers. Her heartfelt, achingingly gorgeous alto-range vocals leave the audience breathless. Martha’s faith is real, and it shows in her delivery of her favorite bluegrass gospel songs which regularly inspire listeners, no matter what the setting. Prepare to shout and testify when Martha renders a song like “Unclouded Day.”

The Persimmons Sisters appear most years at the International Bluegrass Music Museum’s “ROMP” River of Music Party each June in Owensboro, as well as the city’s summer “Fridays After 5” concert series. They performed at the 2007 “Bluegrass Returns to Its Roots” festival at the Executive Inn in Owensboro, Ky. The Persimmons have a new album, entitled "Green Persimmon Trees," which will be released officially on April 15, 2008. Come join us at the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Ky on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m., for an album release party and jam session!

Thanks for considering the Persimmon Sisters for your bluegrass festival, town festival, wedding reception, Christmas party, Cinco de Mayo fiesta, bar mitzvah, senior citizens extravaganza, nun's picnic or other momentous social event. You’ll be glad you called them! For more information, email nancycardwell@comcast.net