Bluegrass Festival with Sandy Cherryholmes!

Welcome to the "Seasons of Humility" Bluegrass Festival! Today we are hosting Sandy Cherryholmes of the bluegrass band Cherryholmes! Here's a little bit of background about Sandy from their website:

"Sandy plays a hard-hitting mandolin style and driving rhythm that keep the band's momentum going. For special numbers, she switches to the clawhammer banjo. From hard hitting bluegrass gospel to old-time mountain and country tunes, she does it all. Her yodeling, and her step dancing are real crowd pleasers. Sandy is also a great harmony singer and proficient song writer, and enjoys writing gospel music."

Sandy, Jere, their two sons (B.J. and Skip), and their two daughters (Cia and Molly) make up the band that is Cherryholmes. Here's a brief description of the band:

"With their roots based in bluegrass, Celtic, and jazz music, Cherryholmes has stormed to the top of the music world since winning the 2005 IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Award for Entertainer of the Year."

To find out more about the band, click HERE to visit their website.

And now I am very excited to introduce you all to Sandy Cherryholmes!

Amber: Welcome, Sandy! How did you and your family become interested in bluegrass music?

Sandy: Jere and I stumbled upon a bluegrass radio show in California many years ago. We tuned in every Saturday morning. It was a lot of fun to listen to. After our daughter Shelly passed away (March 12, 1999), we took the family to a local bluegrass festival. We had a great time. Jere thought the music would be fun to play and easy enough for the youngest to catch on to. He said we should start a family bluegrass jam. I began working with them during the day (they were home-schooled) and we would jam at night with Jere. The kids picked it up quickly. We spent many memorable evenings jamming in our living room.

Amber: What is it like being in a band as a family? Do you feel that it draws you closer together?

Sandy: It is very special playing music as a family. There is a certain chemistry that occurs within a family. We play off each others energies. The music has taken us to different parts of the world. We have shared so many experiences together--bad and good (mostly good).

Amber: It is obvious in your music that you are a very close-knit group.

What is your favorite song that you (or one of the members of your family) have written and why is it your favorite?

Sandy: "This is My Son" written by Cia is probably the most special of our songs. We sincerely pray for and support our men and women in uniform who sacrifice for our freedoms. This song was written to acknowledge that the families they leave behind are making their own sacrifices as well.

Amber: That is a beautiful song, and one that has blessed me very much, as well!

What is your favorite place that you have visited while on tour?

Sandy: I love going to the UK, but I have to say that the Bluegrass Cruise is my favorite event. We've been to the Carribean about 6 times. There's something about the combination of bluegrass music, friends, ocean breeze, and turquoise water that makes for a perfect bluegrass experience. We go every February.

Amber: Oh, what I wouldn't give to join you! Sounds delightful.

Being in the music industry, do you prefer performing live or do you prefer the process involved in recording a CD?

Sandy: We make our living on the road. Our mainstay is the live performance. We enjoy making friends. The recording process takes only a few weeks and occurs every 1 to 1-1/2 years. It is another great dimension of the business. The tricky part is that touring and recording have to be juggled to happen at the same time. Sometimes we have returned from a 10 or 12 hour drive, slept a few hours and headed for the studio. We may put in three 12 hour days of recording, and then meet the bus for an 8 or more hours drive to the next show. It isn't all glamorous! Recording is very stressful, but the finished product is very gratifying.

Amber: Tying in with the title of this blog, “Seasons of Humility,” do you ever struggle with humility now that Cherryholmes as a band has become so popular? If so, do you have any advice you can share with us from your journey to be humble before God?

Sandy: That is a very good question. The goal of a musician is to be the best. An artist is constantly being photographed, constantly being praised. An artist who is known to be Christian is often scrutinized. We keep each other accountable. Our band was given to us as a gift. It was God's gift of healing. From the very beginning, we tried to do our best as He would expect us to do. But there have been certain things we wouldn't compromise to get ahead. We have prayed for God to close doors if we couldn't see if something was right or wrong. He has done just that. There are opportunities we have been denied because of our values. We are all content in that. We all have had times when we may have wanted a little more attention or praise than we were getting, but we have to put those feelings in their proper place in order to work together. I'm proud of the kids. They have never expressed bitter feelings because of a another sibling's accomplishments. We truly just feel thankful for everything we've been able to do. In our hearts, we are still that struggling family in L.A. who God gave a special blessing to. Perhaps that is the key--remembering where we came from helps us to see how much more we received than we deserved.

Amber: Thank you for sharing your heart and that wonderful advice! And I love that idea of "remembering where we came from," which is kind of what bluegrass music is, in a way--remembering our roots.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Sandy! Cherryholmes creates phenomenal music, and it has been my pleasure to introduce you to my readers!


Now, readers, I hope you don't mind if I share a video I put together this past summer (one I already shared when I was posting about my trip to Washington D.C.). I think it would be fitting to share it again, since Sandy told us that the song I used in the slide show/movie ("This is My Son") is the band's most special song.



The music of Cherryholmes is touching, haunting, and beautiful. If you would like a chance to win an iTunes download of your choice of one of their CDs, leave a comment with your e-mail address saying you would like to be entered in the giveaway! A winner will be announced on Sunday, October 24.