HISTORY
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Sweet Potato Pie formed in January of 2000, with Sonya, Penny, and Angela. Sonya was 7 months pregnant with her third child with a guitar strapped over her stomach, Penny had just bought her first banjo a few months before, and Angela had been away from music for a number of years and wanted to learn to play the bass. We were not your typical band by any stretch. We really were not planning on performing, we only wanted to play a little music. The first song we tried to play was “You are my Sunshine.” We couldn’t believe our ears. It really sounded like…music! A few months later Penny decided to test the waters for the Pie. She made a few contacts and secured our first gig. We were bonafide as Everett would say. Someone asked Sonya, “Why are you playing bluegrass?” Her response was simple, “Because Penny has a banjo!”

We girls spent the first three years learning the ropes, and playing at as many local venues as we could. Several people were very instrumental in helping us get started…Steve Bass, whose insight and encouragement have been priceless, Jan Johannson, who taught us the basic structure of bluegrass, and Steve Dilling whose expertise and kindness has brought us out of obscurity.

The Pie never tried to fit into one musical box, we just wanted to play the music that we enjoyed, which we dubbed “sweetgrass”. In 2002, the girls were joined by Kevin Hopkins a seasoned bluegrass picker who had been away from music for 15 years and was looking for a place to plug back in. Kevin was a wealth of knowldege and we soaked up everything he could show us. When Kevin arrived he really helped define the Pie’s sound with his blistering dobro licks and harmony vocals. Kevin showed a great deal of patience with us as we learned to play but that’s what makes him unique. In the fall of 2002, Missy Pyne joined the group to put some spice in the vocals. Her smooth candy-like voice was just what the Pie needed to make its mark. When Missy joined the group it was like she had always been with us. It was magic.

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