finetune artist: Be Good Tanyas

This Vancouver, Canada-based roots act was formed in 1999 by Samantha Parton (guitar, vocals, mandolin, banjo), Frazey Ford (guitar/vocals) and Trish Klein (guitar, banjo, vocals), who were initially joined by fourth member Jolie Holland (b. 17 May 1976, Houston, Texas, USA; guitar, violin, vocals). Klein and Ford had previously played together in another band, while Parton first met the latter when they were both tree-planting in the Kootenays. They made their debut busking in the street outside the Lilith Fair show in Vancouver, and had soon built up a loyal following on the local folk circuit. The Be Good Tanyas recorded their low-budget debut Blue Horse in an old wooden shack on the outskirts of Vancouver. The album, which was released independently at the end of 2000, started life as a project devised by producer and teacher Garth Futcher who asked the group to record with his class of production students. Suitably impressed by what he heard, Futcher ended up recording them himself. A joyous fusion of country, bluegrass, folk and blues stylings, coupled with the tight vocal harmonies of Parton, Ford and Klein, Blue Horse sold over 5,000 copies before the group (now minus Holland) was snapped up by Nettwerk Productions. The major label re-released the album in North America the following year.

Listen to Be Good Tanyas at Finetune.