No article about or review of Della Mae can leave the fact that they are, in the male-dominated genre of bluegrass, an all-female band. But that’s trite, and it sells short that they’re one of the best groups playing this music. They’ve won awards and competitions for the instrumental prowess, and they have a Grammy nomination. In their recent appearance at the Hamilton, which was a hometown show for several members of the band, they showed off their estimable talents in two dynamite sets.
Friday night at the Hamilton was a wonderfully warm atmosphere, with numerous family and friends in attendance for the band. Folk legend Tom Paxton looked on while the band was joined by Alice Gerrard, and Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, and banjo player Alison Brown and her son on Pete Seeger’s classic protest song, “If I Had a Hammer.” They noted that Gerrard, who, with the late Hazel Dickens, paved the way for women in bluegrass, recently moved back to our area after several years in North Carolina. Brown, who owns their label — Compass Records — and who produced their just-released album Magic Accident, popped up throughout the show. It was mentioned that she gave up a career in finance banking to pursue music, and that she recently did a record with Steve Martin (yes, the comedian, he’s also an accomplished musician), Safe, Sensible, and Sane.
Speaking of Magic Accident, Della Mae played the album in its entirety as their first set on Jan. 30. One of the things that sets them apart from many bluegrass band is that, while they can play their asses off, they’re really dedicated to great songs, working with some of the best songwriters in contemporary roots music and Americana. Like their heroes, the Dixie Chicks (editor: The Chicks!) — a band that shares their staunch feminist and progressive values, and who were never shy about expressing them — they have a song here, “Lifeline,” by Bruce Robison, who wrote “Travelin’ Soldier” for Maines and company.
Stream Magic Accident by Della Mae on Spotify:
“I Compare Everyone to You” was written with the great (and quite tall, at least to me, being 5-4) Brennen Leigh, while Caroline Spence lent her talents on “Nothing At All” with lead vocalist Celia Woodsmith, who said, “I only write about one long song a decade.” Introducing a song that dealt with generational trauma, they noted how, with bluegrass, you can write songs about the heaviest of subjects and they’ll seem upbeat.
Della Mae isn’t afraid to get heavy or political, whether it be in their own songs or covers. In the second set, they played “Headlight,” which they wrote about the sexual assault allegations about Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh. “Boston,” another of their original compositions, is a powerful a labor anthem as you’ll hear, especially in this genre. The classic “Sixteen Tons,” which takes up the plight of coal miners, hearkens back to a time when country music had a more populist streak. Their cover of Neil Young’s “Ohio,” written about the shootings of protestors at Kent State by the National Guard, was a timely choice, given the murders of civilians in Minneapolis by ICE agents.
As political as much of their set was, we also get some straight-up musical gems, like a John Hartford tune. Everything Della Mae played was done with great skill and with reverence for tradition while keeping their eyes squarely on the present day. I can be picky about bluegrass, finding much of it to sound the same and not be very interesting, but Della Mae is an exception. They play as well as anyone in the genre, and they combine that with really compelling songs, both their own and covers. I’ve tremendously enjoyed every one of their shows I’ve attended, and last week’s was no exception.
Here are some photos of Della Mae performing live at The Hamilton Live on Jan. 30, 2026. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Ari Strauss.
