Leela and Ellie Grace are a duo of American singer/songwriters. They are sisters, the daughters of
Paul and Win Grace
Paul and Win Grace, now known as Paul Fotsch and Win Grace, were a married duo of American folk musicians and old-time musicians. They released seven albums between 1984 and 2006 and toured extensively across North America. They performed with d ...
. They perform a mixture of original compositions by both sisters, traditional
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 Fo ...
and
old time songs, and covers of songs by other contemporary folk songwriters.
Early career
Leela and Ellie were born in Columbia Missouri in 1977 and 1978 respectively. Growing up, they frequently traveled with their parents, traveling musicians Paul Fotsch (formerly Grace) and Win Grace. They grew up surrounded by the music of their parents and their parents' peers and colleagues, and started performing with their parents at an early age.
The Grace family released three albums as a quartet: ''Carved Out of Time'' (1990), ''In Dreams I Hear Music'' (1993), and ''Dance Upon This Earth'' (1996).
"Carved Out of Time" was re-released on CD as "Fiddle, Folk and Foolishness" in 2006. This CD also includes "Fifty Miles of Elbow Room" (1987) and "A Place In the Choir" (1984).
Recent Works
Leela and Ellie started touring as a duo in 1997, and in 2003 released their eponymous first duo album. It contains one original song by Ellie and four by Leela, plus nine additional songs, a mixture of traditional songs and covers.
In 2008 they released their second album, ''Where the Waters Run'', with five original songs by Leela, three by Ellie, one co-written, and two traditional songs. Folk disc jockey
Steve Jerrett named ''Where the Waters Run'' as one of the 15 best new albums of 2008.
Instruments
Leela plays
banjo and
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
. Ellie plays
fiddle,
mandolin, and guitar. Both also perform
percussive dance, combining elements of
clogging,
tap dancing
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...
,
step dancing
Step(s) or STEP may refer to:
Common meanings
* Steps, making a staircase
* Walking
* Dance move
* Military step, or march
** Marching
Arts Films and television
* ''Steps'' (TV series), Hong Kong
* ''Step'' (film), US, 2017
Literature
* ' ...
, and other styles.
Current status
In addition to performing, individually and together, both Leela
and Ellie
Ellie Grace's School of Dance and Music, Asheville, North Carolina
/ref>
teach classes in percussive dance, harmony singing, banjo (Leela) and other topics. They also continue to write.
Leela currently lives in Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
, Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
. Ellie currently lives in Asheville
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 ci ...
, North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
.
References
External links
Leela and Ellie Grace web page
Leela and Ellie Grace MySpace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leela And Ellie Grace
American folk musical groups