About

The Redbuds initially formed in 2012 when the band’s original banjo player, Virginia Pishioneri, and fiddle player Allie Smith lived on either side of the same duplex. During casual firepit jams in the shared backyard, Allie and Virginia discovered that they also shared a love of Appalachian folk music. Together with Allie’s sister Laura (guitar), the three began playing regularly in front of Global Gallery during the Clintonville Farmers’ Market almost every Saturday. Throughout 2013 and 2014, The Redbuds played many birthday parties, grocery stores, farmer’s markets, venues, and local festivals, including ComFest, The Duck Creek Log Jam, and The Central Ohio Folk Music Festival. Their self-titled first album was recorded in the summer of 2013 and can still be found on Spotify and Apple Music. Previous member also includes Shannon Knapp on upright bass in 2014. 

The Redbuds took a bit of a break for a few years as Allie joined the Peace Corps and Virginia pursued other projects. In the fall of 2019, Laura received a message from a high school classmate, Rachel Scott (bass and banjo). Rachel was moving back to Columbus after living away in Boston for a time. She wanted to reconnect and, perhaps, play some music together. Together with Allie, the newly forming trio played a few times, but soon thereafter, the pandemic arrived. 

The Columbus Folk Music Society messaged The Redbuds’ facebook page several times during the various breaks in music making, always asking if The Redbuds were playing again. Many times, the answer was “not yet.” But in the winter of 2022, sisters Allie and Laura decided it was time. They reached out to Rachel with one goal in mind: to play the Central Ohio Folk Festival in May of 2023. The new Redbuds trio began practicing regularly, working hard to reimagine old material for the new trio and introduce new songs. 

Today, you can find the trio playing in various locations around Columbus. Since reforming in 2022, The Redbuds have played at the Grandview Public Library, Global Gallery, Rambling House Soda Pop, The Central Ohio Folk Festival, and the Columbus Arts Festival, among other places.