Gena Britt
Rooted in Tradition
Photo By Michael Carter
As banjo player for the 2020 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) “Entertainer of the Year” group, Sister Sadie, Britt describes her music as “rooted in tradition with a contemporary edge,” much like Britt herself. She was first introduced to clogging through her grandfather, William “Son” Britt, a square-dance caller, and the banjo was a natural correlation. “I listened to a lot of the pioneers when I was learning to play—including Sonny Osborne and J.D. Crowe,” Britt says.
Music has always been a family affair. Britt spent a lot of time camping and going to bluegrass festivals with her parents. The close-knit bluegrass community allowed her to meet a lot of people in the industry that she knows today. Each March was filled with local conventions—Star, Seagrove, North Moore. “My parents took me all over the country. I had that experience of getting to do that with them. Growing up I was able to get to know my heroes on a personal level,” Britt says. “That’s a really neat thing about this music.”
Family has always been a sort of guiding compass for Britt, and music is something that they share and love. Britt still plays a 1966 RB-250 Gibson Bowtie banjo that her father gave her when she was twelve. When he found it, the banjo had been lying in a house under a man’s bed for seven or eight years, untouched. “I felt so bad for that instrument that it had been neglected. I kind of correlate instruments for musicians like pets for pet lovers. You grow so attached to that instrument.” Several years ago, the banjo was stolen. “It was heartbreaking because of the sentimental value and it had become a part of me.” Amazingly, after seven or eight months, it was recovered and returned to Gena. “That was a happy day,” she reminisces with a smile.
Of all her awards, Britt claims the 2019 Grammy nomination for “Best Bluegrass Album of the Year” for Sister Sadie II, was the most surprising. “Sitting in my living room when I was a little girl, watching the Grammy Awards, I never in a million years thought we’d be there. Just to be nominated is such an honor.” Another amazing experience was the Grand Ole Opry debut as a band with Sister Sadie in March 2019. “Standing in that circle where all these heroes and people have stood before you. To get to do that was pretty humbling and special.”
In the earlier days, Lynn Morris was a huge influence because it was so rare to see banjo players sing lead and play at the same time, especially a woman. “Personally and professionally, she carried herself in such a wonderful and positive way. Later on in life, Allison Krauss and Rhonda Vincent—who were still rooted in tradition—took our music to new heights and were huge influences of mine as well.” Outside of bluegrass, James Taylor is one of Gena’s favorites, and she tries to go hear him anytime he’s in the area. “I also love John Mayer. That may be a surprise to some people.”
Despite her humbleness, Britt is highly-regarded within the bluegrass industry and beyond. Gena has been nominated for the IBMA “Banjo Player of the Year” twice (2020 and 2021) and the all-female supergroup Sister Sadie has won the IBMA “Vocal Group of the Year” award for the last three years.
Britt has traveled all over the country as part of the collaboration with Sister Sadie and as a solo artist. Last December the band played at the Grand Ole Opry for the 75th Anniversary of Bluegrass Celebration. Also, Sister Sadie currently has a display in the Country Music Hall of Fame for the “American Currents” exhibit through March 2022.
Despite all of the solo success and her work with Sister Sadie, some things haven’t changed for Gena since the early days of festivals and fiddlers’ conventions. Family is still central, and what she misses most when she’s on the road. “The good thing about Sister Sadie is that our touring schedule isn’t overwhelming. We’re able to balance our love for music and our families, which is the most important thing to all of us.”
Of all the songs from Gena’s solo album, Chronicle: Friends and Music, the instrumental “Soldier’s Lament,” is one of her favorites. “When you create something of your own and imagine it coming to life with other musicians, you don’t know what it’s going to sound like. When you finally hear your own music, to hear it on the radio is a feeling I can’t describe. It’s just something that you’ve created on your own that’s come to life.”
Now that her daughters are teenagers, they travel with her more often and have been able to experience the Opry a few times. Coming from a family of musicians, Jalyn and Dalsyn fit right in. “They hear harmony parts naturally, so it’s pretty heartwarming to see them love it as much as I do.”
Regarding all of the above-mentioned awards, Gena said, “I’m looking forward to building on these awards that we’ve been fortunate enough to win and keep moving forward.” Other projects are in the works, and the door is always left open for new opportunities, maybe even with her daughters. “Probably my dream collaboration would be doing something with Leann Womack. She loves bluegrass music, and it would really be an honor if we could do something with her.”
Britt still prefers small town life to the lights of the big cities, even though standing in the circle at the Grand Ole Opry has an undeniable appeal. She now makes her home in Clinton, North Carolina, a town not much bigger than the rural community where she grew up, drawn by the values that come with small town life. “I love being in small towns where there’s a church on every corner or folks doing what they can for others, including maybe doing a benefit for whoever might need help in the area. That’s a big reason that I’m drawn to small town life—the caring aspect of the neighbors, making sure everybody’s okay, people going down the road throwing their hands up to say ‘hi.’”
Whether standing centerstage at the Opry, or walking down a sandy Carolina road with her girls, Gena remains grounded in what she holds most dear—family and music.
