August 2, 2024 — Few artists working in bluegrass are more distinctive than Gina Furtado and her Gina Furtado Project, and their newest Mountain Home Music Company single touches on almost every one of the points that make her records unique.
Start with the instantly recognizable sound of Furtado’s delicate yet assertive banjo that kicks off “Pigtails and Sugarcane,” backed by sisters Malia (fiddle) and Lu(upright bass); producer Kristin Scott Benson’s husband Wayne on mandolin, and guitarist Drew Matulich. Then there’s her voice, standing out for its fresh timbre, disarmingly unadorned approach and emotional intimacy. Yet these characteristics, important as they are, always work to support her songwriting, notable for slinky melodies that stick in the listener’s ear and for themes that frequently range beyond the genre’s usual subjects. Like its predecessor, the alternately whimsical and wistful “Submarine,” which finds a girl imagining life below the surface before learning, in a line rooted in fact until relatively recently, that “girls aren’t allowed,” “Pigtails and Sugarcane” continues in that same elegantly constructed, deeply felt vein.
This time, Furtado reveals, “The idea for this song came when I used to sit on my back porch in the evenings and hear my neighbor chatting away on the phone each night in Spanish. He and his housemates were immigrants from El Salvador. I wondered what it was like on the other end of the line; where he was calling home to, and how hard it must be to only be able to talk to your loved ones on a long distance phone call. I was reminded of my visits to Honduras years before, and how common it was for young men to be missing from the households there, having been sent to the US to find work and support their families from afar. Also common was for kids to enjoy a tasty treat by cutting a section of sugarcane and chewing on it! ‘Pigtails and Sugarcane’ is what I imagined my immigrant neighbor’s stories might be.”
With its relaxed waltz time, lilting melody, sweet evocation of a Central American village and gentle acknowledgement of the hard realities of migrant work, “Pigtails and Sugarcane” serves notice once more of the unique presence that The Gina Furtado Project brings to the scene.
Listen to “Pigtails and Sugarcane” HERE.
About The Gina Furtado Project
Formed by innovative artist Gina Furtado, The Gina Furtado Project brings unique musicianship and songwriting that breaks free from the assumed constructs of traditional music modalities and makes a new musical statement influenced by emotion, played with the highest skill, and expressing an enormous verve and vitality.
Furtado, known for her work as the banjo player for Chris Jones & The Night Drivers, has a long history with her banjo. Born and raised in Front Royal, Virginia, Gina began touring up and down the east coast in her tween years with her siblings, earning countless ribbons from fiddlers conventions, a strong reputation in the regional bluegrass scene, and a stamp from Bluegrass Today as “absurdly talented.” She later played in a number of regional acts before making her international touring debut with Chris Jones and the Night Drivers soon after joining the group in 2016.
While touring, she is joined by Drew Matulich on guitar and her sisters Malia Furtado, on violin and Lu Furtado on bass, and each brings experience and energy to the band.
Now based in Asheville, NC, Matulich grew up in Georgia and began playing guitar at 8. While studying music in college he performed with several bands of various styles in and around Georgia and Florida before immersing himself in the Bluegrass scene of Western North Carolina. He has toured and recorded with Billy Strings, made a guest appearance on Roland White’s album and shared the stage with the likes of David Grisman, Bryan Sutton, Sam Bush, Cody Kilby, and Sierra Hull.
Malia’s musical journey began at the age of 3 with classical violin lessons and took a turn, when she attended her first festival, Galax Old Fiddlers Convention, a few years later. Since then, she has performed with a number of different groups, taken home a range of prizes, graced the stage of numerous venues up and down the East Coast and given private lessons in both bluegrass and classical playing. Malia is the Director of Education at the Front Porch Music School in Charlottesville, VA, and currently teaches adult continued education courses in bluegrass fiddle at Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, VA.
Lu Furtado has been attending bluegrass and old time music festivals since she was born. She began playing multiple instruments at the age of ten, and has been a winner at the Galax Old Fiddlers Convention playing the Clawhammer banjo, as well as flat foot dancing. She has toured and recorded with multiple bands of varying styles, including Banana Express and the Hi Flyers. She taught banjo for several years at the Galax Elementary School and private music lessons for many years. She brings double trouble to the Gina Furtado Project with her silky, low harmony vocals as well as her stylish, groovy bass playing.