Carolann Solebello, Heather Pierson

Most familiar to folk audiences as a founding member of celebrated trio Red Molly, CAROLANN SOLEBELLO returned to solo performance in August 2010 after six years of steady touring with the band. Her fourth solo CD, Steel and Salt, was released in August 2013. A New York City native, Carolann first fell in love with mountain music – and the bluegrass and country that grew out of that tradition – while working as an actor in East Tennessee and Kansas. Tunes and techniques she learned from musicians in both places fundamentally changed her approach to songwriting and guitar playing, and subsequently colored her work with Red Molly. Since parting ways with the trio, Carolann has been carving out a rich and varied career both as a singer-songwriter and as one-fourth of quartet NO FUSS AND FEATHERS ROADSHOW. Carolann won the 2011 Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival Songwriting Competition, placed third in the 2014 SolarFest Songwriting Competition, and was a 2012 Official Showcase Artist at both the FAI and NERFA conferences.

HEATHER PIERSON is an award-­winning pianist, multi-­genre singer/songwriter, arranger, bandleader, and performer. From New Orleans-­style jazz and blues to rousing Americana and poignant folk narratives, Heather’s live performances, both solo and with her acoustic trio (Davy Sturtevant on strings/cornet and Shawn Nadeau on bass) move seamlessly and effortlessly from one style to the next, and a growing catalog of wildly divergent CD releases reflects her boundless creativity. In November 2014, she released her eighth studio recording, Motherless Child, a collection of inspired originals and renditions of blues and jazz standards that is her best and most ambitious release to date. In bringing a Dr. John-­meets-­Dave-­Brubeck sensibility to songs like “The Gumbo’s Too Hot” and embodying the very meaning of heartache in her Nina Simone-­infused renditions of classics like “I Loves You, Porgy” and the stunning title track, Heather’s formidable talents as a vocalist, pianist, songwriter, arranger, and bandleader are on full display.