Chloe Smith is an American singer, multi-instrumental musician, and activist, known for her role as one of the two lead vocalists of

Rising Appalachia Rising Appalachia is an American Appalachian folk music group led by multi-instrumentalist sisters Leah Song and Chloe Smith. Leah also performs as a solo artist. Based between Atlanta, New Orleans, and the Asheville area of North Carolina, the ...

alongside her older sister

Leah Song Leah Song (born Leah Smith) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumental musician, storytelling, storyteller, poet, artist, and activist known for her role as one of the two frontsisters of Rising Appalachia — with younger sister Chloe S ...

. Her music, which incorporates sultry vocals, rhythm, banjo, guitar, and fiddle, is based in the traditions of

Southern soul Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump), country, early R&B, and a strong gospel influence that emanated fro ...

and international roots music. Smith has an interest in

natural medicine Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a form of alternative medicine. A wide array of pseudoscientific practices branded as "natural", "non-invasive", or promoting "self-healing" are employed by its practitioners, who are known as naturop ...

and

healing With physical trauma or disease suffered by an organism, healing involves the repairing of damaged tissue(s), organs and the biological system as a whole and resumption of (normal) functioning. Medicine includes the process by which the cells i ...

and engages in

social activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

, where she is involved in issues pertaining to the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

racial inequality Social inequality occurs when resources in a given society are distributed unevenly, typically through norms of allocation, that engender specific patterns along lines of socially defined categories of persons. It posses and creates gender c ...

and

cultural appropriation Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from ...

Early life and education

Chloe Smith was born and grew up in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in an artistic family. Her father, Andrew Hunter Smith, is a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. Her mother, Jan Smith, is a

jazz pianist Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instru ...

and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

ian schooled in the traditions of southern

Appalachian folk music Appalachian music is the music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. Traditional Appalachian music is derived from various influences, including the ballads, hymns and fiddle music of the British Isles (particularly Scotland), ...

who played

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

with the Rosin Sisters. Smith's musical education was nurtured by her mother, who ensured that both sisters received classical and

jazz piano Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instru ...

training for the most of their upbringing. Smith's mother also guided their training in vocals and harmony singing. Banjo, fiddle and guitar came later, after the sisters had left home and moved to

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

. Smith graduated from

Henry W. Grady High School Midtown High School, formerly Henry W. Grady High School, is a public high school located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It began as Boys High School and was one of the first two high schools established by Atlanta Public Schools in 1872. I ...

. She found high school to be a positive experience which made her more aware of the wide range of racial, financial and cultural diversity in the world. After graduation, Smith traveled for a year, returning when she felt she had spent too much time away from her sister Leah, who was traveling independently.

Activism

Smith's

environmental activism The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists advo ...

like her music is rooted in her childhood. In an interview, speaking about the Appalachian fiddle camps and dances festivals her parents took her to as a child, she said: An activist before she became a musician, she credits her father with inspiring her desire to combine art with activism in a spiritual way, saying: Smith supports other causes in addition to environmental ones. She is particularly concerned about environmental destruction,

, and

, and Rising Appalachia has sung in support of the

Occupy movement The Occupy movement was an international populist socio-political movement that expressed opposition to social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of "real democracy" around the world. It aimed primarily to advance social and econo ...

Musical career

In 2005, Smith, together with her sister Leah, decided to record their first album, ''Leah and Chloe'', one afternoon in the basement studio of a friend. The album was meant as a gift for family and friends but they received so much support and recognition for it that they decided to officially start a band called Rising Appalachia. Smith said of the experience: In the early days, the sisters busked in the

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Squ ...

of New Orleans and elsewhere. They began to find their own natural interpretation of

Appalachian music Appalachian music is the music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. Traditional Appalachian music is derived from various influences, including the ballads, hymns and fiddle music of the British Isles (particularly Scotland) ...

which brought together folk, soul, hip-hop, classical,

southern gospel Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as ...

and other styles based on their upbringing on traditional Appalachian

string band A string band is an old-time music or jazz ensemble made up mainly or solely of string instruments. String bands were popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and are among the forerunners of modern country music and bluegrass. While being active countr ...

music, as well as on their exposure to urban music like hip-hop and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and the influence of roots music of all kinds which they experienced during their worldwide travels. The sisters integrate live performance art into

's shows. Speaking about this, Smith said:

Natural medicine and healing

Smith's interest in

and

inspired the song "

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

," released on Rising Applachia's 2015 album, ''Wider Circles''. Speaking about the song in an interview, she said that the song "draws attention to the natural medicine and natural healing that we’ve experienced over the years," and "there is a new under layer of messaging of using these tools in nature that we have around us to heal ourselves and reconnect to the world we are living in."

Selected discography

With Rising Appalachia

* * * * * * * (live album) * *

Music videos (Rising Appalachia and other collaborations)

* * * *

References

Citations

Works cited

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Chloe Year of birth missing (living people) 1980s births Living people 21st-century American women musicians American activists American banjoists American folk singers American multi-instrumentalists American women guitarists American women singer-songwriters Feminist musicians Folk musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) Musicians from Appalachia Musicians from Atlanta Rising Appalachia