Rayna Gellert (born December 15, 1975) is an American

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 ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

ist, singer, and songwriter specializing in

old-time music Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combination ...

. She grew up in Elkhart, in northern

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, formerly lived 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 cit ...

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 So ...

, and is currently based in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Her father is the traditional fiddler,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

player, and singer Dan Gellert. Originally a classically trained violinist, she took up the old-time fiddle in 1994, when she moved to

to attend

Warren Wilson College Warren Wilson College (WWC) is a private liberal arts college in Swannanoa, North Carolina. It is known for its curriculum that combines academics, work, and service as every student must complete a requisite course of study, work an on-campus ...

. She received a bachelor's degree from Warren Wilson College. Gellert is a former member of the Freight Hoppers. From 2003 to 2009 she performed and recorded with the all-female old-time band

Uncle Earl Uncle Earl is an American old-time music group, formed in 2000 by KC Groves and Jo Serrapere. Currently the lineup consists of four women, all of whom share vocal duties: KC Groves, Kristin Andreassen, Abigail Washburn, and Rayna Gellert. They h ...

. In 2003, she was a featured performer at the

Smithsonian Folklife Festival The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, launched in 1967, is an international exhibition of living cultural heritage presented annually in the summer in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is held on the National Mall for two weeks around the Fo ...

. She has also performed with the dance compan
Rhythm in Shoes
the West African-influenced band

Toubab Krewe "Toubab" , "Toubabou" or "Toubob" is a Central and West African name for a person of European descent ("whites"). Used most frequently in The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea, and Mali, and also in Ivory Coast. The word can also be applied to any perceived t ...

Abigail Washburn Abigail Washburn (born November 10, 1977) is an American clawhammer banjo player and singer. She performs and records as a soloist, as well as with the old-time bands Uncle Earl and Sparrow Quartet, experimental group The Wu Force, and as a du ...

, and Scott Miller. She has toured throughout the United States, Europe, and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. She has been a finalist at the

Appalachian String Band Music Festival The Appalachian String Band Music Festival (often referred to simply as "Clifftop") is a weeklong gathering of thousands of string band musicians and their friends from across the country and around the world, who each year since 1990 have assembl ...

Clifftop, Fayette County, West Virginia Clifftop is an unincorporated community in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. Attractions It is the home of historic Camp Washington-Carver Complex, which hosts the Appalachian String Band Music Festival the first weekend in August. Th ...

several times.

Early life

Gellert is the daughter of Dan Gellert, an old-time banjo and fiddle player. Gellert grew up in northern Indiana.

Career

Gellert has played and recorded with

Loudon Wainwright III Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...

Tyler Ramsey Tyler Ramsey is an American singer-songwriter from Asheville, North Carolina, who is best known as the former lead guitarist for the band Band of Horses. Career Ramsey's eponymous debut album was released in 2005. His second album, ''A Long Dre ...

Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...

, and others. She has appeared at music festivals including

Bonnaroo The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in M ...

Telluride Bluegrass Festival Telluride Bluegrass Festival is an annual music festival in Telluride, Colorado hosted by Planet Bluegrass. Although traditionally the festival focuses on bluegrass music, it often features music from a variety of related genres. History The tow ...

, and RockyGrass.

Instruments

Gellert plays a fiddle that belonged to her great-grandfather, a Hungarian orchestral musician, and guitar.

Discography

As leader

*2000 - ''Ways of the World'' *2012 - ''Old Light- Songs from my Childhood & Other Gone Worlds'' *2017 - ''Workin's Too Hard''

With Uncle Earl

*2004 - ''Going to the Western Slope (EP) *2004 - ''Raise A Ruckus'' (EP) *2005 - ''She Waits For Night'' (

Rounder Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy * ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...

) *2007 - ''Waterloo, Tennessee'' (Rounder)

With Susie Goehring

*2005 - ''Starch & Iron''

With Scott Miller

*2012 - ''CoDependents'' (EP)

With The Brothers K

*2015 - ''Rayna Gellert & the Brothers K (EP)''

With Kieran Kane

*2018 - ''The Ledges'' *2019 - ''When the Sun Goes Down'' *2022 - ''The Flowers That Bloom in Spring''

References

External links

Rayna Gellert's websiteRayna Gellert MySpace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gellert, Rayna Old-time musicians Living people Appalachian old-time fiddlers Musicians from Asheville, North Carolina People from Elkhart, Indiana 1975 births 21st-century violinists Uncle Earl members Old-time fiddlers American fiddlers American women singer-songwriters Singers from Nashville, Tennessee Singer-songwriters from Tennessee 21st-century American women Singer-songwriters from Indiana Singer-songwriters from North Carolina