Start with the following recipe for Leela and Ellie Grace:
2 cups of spine-tingling, sister harmonies
1 cup of sweet songwriting
½ cup of groovin’ old-time instruments
¼ cup of rockin’, high energy
2 tablespoons of quirky humor
1 teaspoon of percussive dance
A dash of Midwestern charm
Heart to taste
Mix it all together and bake for twenty-something years. Serve fresh and warm at your favorite venue
But, how DO you describe Leela and Ellie Grace? Well, if the Indigo Girls and the Louvin Brothers had somehow brought two little girls into this world and raised them as part of a family band, they just might have grown up to sound like Leela and Ellie Grace. While we do not think this love match would have been much of a success, such a musical union is a beautiful thing in the skilled hands and sparkling voices of the Grace sisters. Having spent a lifetime steeped in diverse musical traditions, they have created a soaring sound and bright presence all their own.
Leela Grace and Ellie Grace are singers, multi-instrumentalists, songwriters, and percussive dancers who grew up traveling across North America performing with their parents Paul & Win Grace as The Grace Family. For the past 11 years, they have been making a name for themselves around the country as a duo, in addition to offering solo appearances, and touring with nationally-known bands such as the Dirk Powell Band. Leela and Ellie have been acclaimed by audiences and fellow musicians alike for their powerful voices, close sisterly harmonies, warm stage presence, and driving old-time instrumentals.
Leela and Ellie's music has a strong grounding in traditional American and Old-time string band styles, but crosses over into the contemporary folk realm, including their own compelling original songs. They recorded three albums with the Grace Family (in addition to doing studio work with other musicians) and have just released second duo CD, "Where the Waters Run," which has already received widespread airplay across the country. The sisters have performed at prestigious venues across the United States and Canada, ranging from the Winnipeg Folk Festival to the Lincoln Center in New York City to the Summer Solstice Festival in Los Angeles.