The Blue Ridge Girls at Spring Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival

The Blue Ridge Girls, like their name, invoke a picturesque simplicity with their take on traditional mountain music.  The trio features Martha Spencer, Jamie Collins and Brett Morris.  They feature a variety of old time, bluegrass and country songs, flatfooting to fiddle and banjo tunes, with original songwriting and a unique take on other familiar crowd-pleasers.  All three women grew up in musical families and are working to preserve and promote the Blue Ridge’s rich musical heritage.

Martha is a singer-songwriter, mountain musician and dancer from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.  She grew up in the musical Spencer family and learned to play several instruments(guitar, fiddle, banjo, bass, dulcimer, mandolin) and flatfoot/clog at a very young age.  She performs and records with various groups, and has been involved with several roots music projects.  Martha has played shows, festivals and led workshops across the US, Australia, UK and Europe.  She has been included in articles in Rolling Stone Country, No Depression, Wide Open Country, Americana Hiways, PopMatters, and more. Martha is a Music Maker Foundation Next Generation artist.

Jamie is a singer-songwriter, bassist and guitarist from Bristol, TN.  Growing up with her Dad, Tony, who was one of the area’s best flat pickers, Jamie has been surrounded by talented musicians since birth.  She has played with her family and several ensembles through the years.  Jamie has been an elementary music teacher for several years and shares her love of music by also teaching at Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc. (JAM).  Jamie released her first solo album in 2022, and tours across the US.

Brett has been playing and dancing to traditional Appalachian music with her family since childhood.  She is an accomplished claw hammer banjo player, bassist, flatfoot dancer and exceptional songwriter.  Brett has a creative and rhythmic musical style based around old time, bluegrass and country music traditions.  She makes her home in Galax, Virginia, where she is also the mother of two.  She is the Director of Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc. (JAM), a freelance musician and dance teacher.  She wrote the trio’s debut single “Wildflowers”