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Ruby Jane Smith

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Ruby Jane Smith
Smith performing at Utopia Fest in 2014
Smith performing at Utopia Fest in 2014
Background information
Birth nameRuby Jane Smith
Born (1994-11-17) November 17, 1994 (age 29)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.[1]
OriginColumbus, Mississippi, U.S.
GenresBluegrass, Americana music
Instrument(s)Fiddle, vocals, Guitar, Mandolin, Harmonica
Years active2005 – Present
LabelsIndie
Websitewww.rubyjane.org

Ruby Jane Smith (born November 17, 1994) is an American fiddle player, singer, and songwriter in the traditional bluegrass and Americana music genres.[2] The youngest fiddler invited to play the Grand Ole Opry, Smith has toured and recorded with Asleep at the Wheel’s Ray Benson, Drake Bell,[3] and Willie Nelson, and has performed on Austin City Limits.[4]

Smith was born in Dallas, Texas, to parents who are originally from Columbus, Mississippi and while still a toddler moved there, with her mother, from whom she inherited a love for bluegrass music.[5] Grand Ole Opry notable Jim Brock began instructing the seven-year-old Smith after seeing her perform onstage with Rhonda Vincent (Smith impressed Vincent and Brock with a rendering of "Boil Them Cabbage Down"[6]) and at age 10 she became the youngest invited fiddler to play at the Opry.[7] She also performed in 2003 at the CMA Music Festival.[8] After winning the 2005 Mississippi State Fiddle Championship[7] and garnering several other contest titles, in 2008 Smith and her family moved to Austin, Texas.[9]

Since moving to Austin, she has been mentored by Ray Benson,[10] and she has toured with other artists (including Willie Nelson[11]) She has performed in a Ray Benson play A Ride with Bob, and played on Willie Nelson’s Grammy-nominated Willie and the Wheel. She has recorded four CDs; her debut album Road to Columbus was released in 2006, and the follow-up 6-song EP Creekside was released in 2007. She realized a live CD "Live at Roadhouse Rags" in 2009 and her most recent EP Feels Like Home was released in 2010. She won the Daniel Pearl Memorial Violin award in 2007, named for Daniel Pearl and given by the foundation named for him, which promotes "Harmony for Humanity."[10][12]

She was also an official performer at the 2010 and 2011 Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Discography

[edit]
  • Road to Columbus (2006)
  • Creekside (EP, 2007)
  • Live At Roadhouse Rags (2009)
  • Feels Like Home (EP, 2010)
  • Celebrity (empire of emptiness) (2012)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Ruby Jane". Ruby Jane Smith. Archived from the original on 2010-08-13. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  2. ^ "Bluegrass Fiddler Ruby Jane Smith to Perform with Big and Rich". Cybergrass: Bluegrass Music News Network. 2007-07-20. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  3. ^ "Who Am I?". Ruby Jane Music. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  4. ^ Corcoran, Michael (2008-08-18). "Five alive! Old is new again with these Austin musicians: Belleville Outfit, Ruby Jane, the Dedringers, Dustin Welch and the Fireants putting a fresh spin on tradition". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  5. ^ Lagorio, Christine (2006-04-13). "Little Girl, Big Musical Talent: Meet Ruby Jane Smith, An 11-Year-Old Country Music Prodigy". CBS News. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  6. ^ Sisson, Carmen K. (2006-11-13). "Backstory: Fiddler on the youth". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  7. ^ a b Swoope, Jan (2009-12-16). "Fine fiddling: Home for the holidays, Ruby Jane Smith talks about an amazing couple of years". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  8. ^ Mizal, Michelle (2003-08-28). "They've Got the Beat". The Virginian-Pilot.
  9. ^ "Modern Sounds in Old-School Music". Austin American-Statesman. 2008-08-21. p. T.08.
  10. ^ a b "These days Ruby Jane Smith is often seen fiddling with mentor Ray Benson, but the 13-year-old can also lay claim as the youngest fiddler invited onto the Grand Ole Opry stage. No surprise that her doggedly traditional style won her the Mississippi State Fiddle Champion title in 2005 and made her the 2007 Daniel Pearl Memorial Violin recipient." Moser, Margaret (2008-12-24). "Smells Like Teen Spirit: U18 going on 21: Teen acts of tomorrow and tonight". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  11. ^ Wilkie, Christina (2010-09-13). "CBS's Bob Schieffer sings at D.C. bar". Capitol Hill Publishing Corp. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
  12. ^ "Country Bluegrass Winners Carry on the Journalist's Legacy of "Harmony for Humanity"" (Press release). PR Newswire. 2007-09-04. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
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