On Top of Everything Else, Sierra Ferrell Kills On Fiddle Too

I’m not even really sure if Sierra Ferrell is a real person at this point, or if she is some sort of mythical siren born of musical demigods that drifts onto stages and serenades us with her whimsical expressions like a seance of Appalachian apparitions. Her recorded offerings are quite fetching too of course, but in the live theater, few are as arresting as Sierra, and that is one of the many reasons so many videos capturing her spirit have gone viral, and folks seek them out with such ferocity.
Along with her alluring original songs, Sierra Ferrell is also a voluminous tomb of old-time mountain songs and fiddle reels, sometimes adapting these archaic compositions to her liking, and sometimes rendering them in their most authentic form. It’s not just the wandering gypsy in her voice, but her guitar playing that is enrapturing and elevated in skill for most singers and songwriters. Sierra Ferrell truly is the full package of a musical performer.
But who knew she was also so adept at fiddle? I mean, of course she is. She’s Sierra Ferrell. Yes, devout followers of her have probably known this to be true for a while, and of course the native West Virginian has been heavily influenced by bluegrass her whole life. But here in 2022, she’s been featuring herself on fiddle in the song “Fox Trot,” wowing audiences across the country. Some less than perfect video of it has surfaced previously, but leave it up to Music City Maven to capture a pretty good rendition of the song at Sierra Ferrell’s performance at the Basement East in Nashville earlier in April (see below).
Of course, Sierra Ferrell also has a full-time fiddle player in her traveling entourage in the form of Josie Toney. A fiddle champion originally from Olympia, Washington, Josie is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music, earning the Sam Eisenson Award for Country Music. Josie Toney is Sierra’s ace in the hole, but when Sierra joins her on the fiddle, it’s something even more magical. Really, Sierra entire band right now has found about the perfect musical chemistry.
It won’t be much longer that Sierra Ferrell is playing venues as small as The Basement East. In fact she’s had to play residencies at the venue to satisfy demand, and they all sell out. And there’s also the ever-present possibility she will just vaporize and return to the cosmos from where she came at any moment, so see her live when you can.
See Sierra Ferrell Tour Dates
April 28, 2022 @ 8:47 am
going to see her with Ray Lamontagne in a month or so…been following her for a bit now…just inspired by her ease…all natural talent.
hope you are well!
olds
April 28, 2022 @ 9:20 am
Yep, have a feeling after these tours with Ray Lamontagne and Shakey Graves as well as the festival appearances this summer she is going to blow up beyond the independent music scene crowd. I’d expect a shorter wait for the next release and some broader promotion over the next two years. We’ll see if that means anything with her sound/song choices in turn.
April 28, 2022 @ 9:45 am
I saw her in Bristol and at MerleFest last year and she didn’t break out her fiddle at all. Amazing! Josie Toney is a fantastic fiddle player and adds a lot to her performance. My favorite cover she’s done is Charley Pride’s Snakes Crawl at Night. Here’s a video I took of her doing that song: https://youtu.be/RSQS437jLsM
April 28, 2022 @ 10:38 am
As many are saying about Sierra Ferrell, she has a Country Heart, Jazz Mind and Punk Rock Soul.
April 28, 2022 @ 10:42 am
Hot damn!
April 28, 2022 @ 1:24 pm
Love the writing in this piece. Ferrell does put on a great show. I hope to get another chance to see her in a smaller venue, but would happily sojourn to a larger venue to see her.
April 28, 2022 @ 4:56 pm
Been saying it since I discovered her years ago on Gems!!
I must have watched live versions of “fox trot” 50 times in the past 2 days.
April 28, 2022 @ 9:29 pm
Had the tickets for her show a couple weeks ago in Boston. Life intervened, couldn’t go. Fingers crossed for another chance, but considering how many are selling out I’m not optimistic.
Josie Toney is a pretty darn good singer/songwriter before you even get to the fiddle. I bet the vocal harmonies in that show are awesome.
April 28, 2022 @ 9:59 pm
They are! They are fantastic together.
April 28, 2022 @ 10:31 pm
Sierra just keeps getting better & better.
She kills it.
Time to lose the nose/booger ring, though
April 29, 2022 @ 5:44 am
I love the fiddle on her song Silver Dollar too
April 29, 2022 @ 11:33 am
WV is its own country. WV people are definitely unique and crazy.
April 30, 2022 @ 6:35 pm
She’s the best thing going on right now in country music. Proudly going to see her in KY in June and getting married for the occasion.
September 1, 2022 @ 6:41 am
Sierra’s fiddle is the new Aladdin’s lamp. She draws her bow back and forth across it a few times and Josie Toney pops out!
Sierra must have a really big closet, amirite? She probably sleeps in the closet and uses the room for her wardrobe.
Hope it works out for her that she can stay home more and not get exhausted by the touring again.
She could just sing the phone book but her originals and co-wrote are really phrased and emotional.