Old-time string band Bill and the Belles played a fun, memorable set at R.A. Fountain on July 21, 2018. Kris Truelsen (guitar, vocals), Kalia Yeagle (fiddle, vocals), Aidan Vansuetendael (banjo, banjo ukulele, vocals), and Andrew Small (bass) met while students at East Tennessee State University and have been playing together ever since. John Lawless of Bluegrass Today called their music “part vaudeville, part string swing, and always all acoustic”. Bill and the Belles are known for their beautiful harmonies and skillful instrumentation. Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival said, “From fiddle breakdowns and Southern ballads to the pop songs of Tin Pan Alley, a Bill and the Belles show celebrates the deep roots of old-time country music.”
Bill and the Belles are the house band on Radio Bristol’s Farm and Fun Time, hosted and produced by the band’s very own Kris Truelsen. Hosted live at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, Farm and Fun Time is a television/radio show featuring traditional country, old-time, and bluegrass music. The historic show, celebrating Appalachian culture through music and a variety of other segments, can be listened to on the second Thursday of every month.
The band has released five albums: Introducing: Bill and the Belles (2015), Live at Music City Roots (2016), Swallowtail Coat the Cylinder Recordings (2017), DreamSongs, Etc. (2018), and Happy Again (2021). Their two most recent CDs are still for sale and can be purchased here.
Bill and the Belles’ YouTube channel.
Sources
“Bill & The Belles.” Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, 16 Feb. 2017, Read it.
Lawless, John. “That’ll Be Just Fine Video from Bill and The Belles.” Bluegrass Today, 7 Mar. 2019, Read it.
–Charlotte Grimes, April 2021
Background photo from Bluegrass Today. Featured image from Bill and the Belles’ Facebook page.