Robinella is the band of singer-songwriter Robin Ella Bailey. The band was first formed as Robinella and the CCstringband in the late 1990s by Robin Ella Tipton Contreras and former husband, Cruz Abdon Contreras (the "CC" in CCstringband) who met while studying at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

, Cruz being a jazz piano major and "Robinella" an illustration/art major.Robinella.com
/ref> They released three albums under that name before shortening it to simply Robinella with the 2006 release of '' Solace for the Lonely'', an album that began to explore areas of pop and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

. The album contains the country weeper "Teardrops," the funky "Waiting" and the uptempo "Oh So Sexy." Prior to that, much of the band's work could be described as a mixture of

progressive bluegrass Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it lar ...

and

jazz blues The 12-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on ...

. Notable early songs include many originals by "Robinella" such as "Man Over" and covers such as Nanci Griffith's "Love at the Five and Dime," and "Flashdance (What A Feeling)" from the movie soundtrack "Flashdance" Robinella released ''Fly Away Bird'', her much anticipated fifth album, in December 2009, along with a live album, ''A Sunday Kind of Love'', which includes live performances from her regular show at Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Robinella performed every Sunday evening for 11 years. Her most current album titled "Ode to Love" was released in 2012, The album consists mainly of love songs and boasts guitarists Frank Vignola playing and co-producing.

Discography

* As Robinella and the CCstringband: ** ''Robinella and the CCstringband'' (Big Gulley Records, 2000) ** ''No Saint, No Prize'' (Big Gulley Records, 2001) ** ''Robinella and the CCstringband'' (

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, May 20, 2003) * As Robinella: ** '' Solace for the Lonely'' (Dualtone Music Group, February 21, 2006)

Other contributions

*''

Eklektikos Live ''eklektikos'' is a classical chamber music ensemble specializing in the performance of music by contemporary Canadian composers. Based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, its core members include Dale Sorensen (trombone and artistic d ...

'' (2005) - "Tennessee Saturday Night"

Television appearances

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...

- February 25, 2003.TV.com: Robinella and the CCstringband
/ref> Performed "Man Over." * Soundstage - September 11, 2003 Performed "Man Over" and Honey Honey Bee" * Most Wanted Live - January 10, 2004 Performed "Dress Me Up Dress Me Down"

References

American bluegrass musicians Musical groups from Knoxville, Tennessee Country musicians from Tennessee {{US-band-stub