First Published in Country Music International – February 1999

An infusion of younger performers with more varied backgrounds than traditional players is breathing fresh life into bluegrass music. The latest bluegrass sensation is 19-year-old TINA ADAIR, and if her debut album is anything to go by, she's all set for a bright future.

With a style closely resembling that of Alison Krauss, Tina Adair has the knack of blending bluegrass traditions with a contemporary musical stance that could lead to widespread appeal beyond the tight confines of the bluegrass circuit.

With brilliant, fresh performers from a new generation of exciting bluegrass greats, Tina's album showcases such instrumental stars as Chris Thile, Aubrey Haynie, Viktor Krauss, Bryan Sutton and Charlie Cushman. Grammy award-winning producer Jerry Douglas brings out the beauty and power in the teenager's voice, while the awe-inspiring young players prove that the music is in safe hands with their contagious, on-the-mark picking. "I had a blast making the album," she enthuses from her Alabama home. "The players that are on it, Jerry Douglas, the producer, and I, just had a great time. I was really thrilled to play with those guys.”

While Tina Adair may be a new name to many, the folks back home around Haleyville, Alabama, have watched as she has blossomed into one of the finest young singers and instrumentalists on the bluegrass circuit. When she was just 13, she made her recording debut with the family band, known at that time as Bluegrass Edition, but now called The Adairs.

Over the years Tina contributed fiddle, mandolin and vocals, becoming an integral part of the family band when she was 14. Her brother, Keith, who is eight years older, plays guitar and sings, dad plays banjo and mum upright bass.

"We've been travelling all over the US for something like five years," she explains. "We've been to Canada three times so far. I sing the lead and Keith also does a lot of the lead singing, but since I've had this record on Sugar Hill, I do 90 per cent of the lead singing. It's hard for a girl to sing an old traditional tune, so I leave those for him, and I do the more contemporary tunes."

Possessed of the purest Southern voice, Tina also writes powerful songs, such as the moving Midst Of The Morning Rain and the sweetly-nostalgic Pray With Mama And Daddy, a sentimental ode to departed parents, whose sincere vocal will have you reaching for the Kleenex.

"I started writing when I was about 13 years old," she recalls. "Just playing around. My first song was not good at all. But I just kept writing and writing and I got better. You just have to keep working on it."

Alongside her own songs, she has assembled a captivating mix of material that ranges from Poco's irresistibly catchy Crazy Love, Janis Ian's insightful Some People's Lives and Cheryl Wheeler's Arrow to the Molly O'Day classic When My Time Comes To Go. Malcolm Pulley's How Many Roads is simply delightful. Her flawless soprano range flexes admirably within this infectious and appropriately sad-edged tale.

"I try and draw a young crowd as well as the older people to my music," she says. "Young people think that bluegrass is old hillbilly music, but it's evolved into something besides that. There's really different music there, and I think if they could just listen to it, they would really like it. At 19, I think I can draw them more than somebody that's older.”

Though her childhood was spent around bluegrass and country music, Tina is also a fan of alternative rock and pop music. She counts Savage Garden, Mariah Carey, Alison Krauss, Reba McEntire and Doyle Lawson and Lonesome River Band among her favourites.

"I listen to alternative music and soft rock, and some people in bluegrass say: 'You listen to that stuff, you're not true bluegrass,’” she says indignantly. "Well, I listen to it, but that's not what I'm going to sing, it's not what I'm going to play. I play bluegrass and I sing bluegrass and that's what I'm going to stick to."

Tina currently attends college studying music business, and hopes to go on to law school and train to be an entertainment lawyer. She admits that school work and studying are tough when you are out on the road. When she was in high school, the band had to turn down an opportunity to go to Germany because her school wouldn't grant permission.

"My high school was really cool about letting me miss some days," she chuckles, "but as far as missing three months, no, they wouldn't let me do that. It's hard to juggle the two as far as studying. You spend a lot of nights studying on the bus and cramming for exams. It's a little better than high school was, but it's still hard to juggle the music and school."

Although wanting to carve out a musical career in which she can stay out front singing and playing, Tina is sensible enough to know that she must have qualifications to fall back on in case things don't work out. She also enjoys travelling, and looks forward to one day making regualr trips to Europe.

"It's wonderful that bluegrass and the type of acoustic music on my album is accepted in England and European countries," she enthuses. "I think that is great. I want to go to England. I want to travel all over Europe—the World, actually."