Allison Williams
Born in the Arkansas Ozarks, Allison Williams grew up with music. Allison toured with punk bands throughout the 1990s, before falling in love with oldtime music and clawhammer banjo.
“I had to move 3000 miles away from home, to Portland Oregon, before I discovered the power and joy of oldtime music. I bought a rickety banjo for $50, and never put it down.” In 2004, Allison formed The Forge Mountain Diggers with former Freight Hoppers fiddler David Bass.
For three years the Diggers whipped audiences into a frenzy, with insistent fiddling, powerful vocal harmonies, and a feral energy long missing in the traditional music world. They released a critically acclaimed CD in 2006, and toured internationally, sharing stages with the Grascals, Uncle Earl, Rhonda Vincent, Donna the Buffalo, and many other giants of the new Americana scene.
Allison Williams will be releasing a new solo album early in 2008, featuring friends from the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Old Crow Medicine Show, and the Wiyos. Her stage show is an exuberant mix of oldtime, country blues, and originals, woven together by her resonant voice and infectious energy.