The Ditchlilies

Band DescriptionThere is a mystical detour along the road of American Roots Music, right before genres had drawn lines in the sand proclaiming this to be "bluegrass" or that to be "honky-tonk". The lines were imposed during the advance of technology with the likes of 78 record players and radio coming into fashion. It was a great melting pot of swing, blues, jazz, and old-time country where all manner of musicians would simply play popular music, seemingly without apology or without being hemmed in by commercial restriction. You would hear rural outfits playing their own version of jazz or polished urban swing bands performing rustic mountain music. County by county, region by region, state by state, music would adapt, shift and morph to take on the fabric of its surroundings.
Kari Larson and Lisa Schultz have loved and performed what has now come to be named "Americana" for many years and in several different incarnations. But together, over a decade ago, The DitchLilies swerved off onto that mystical detour, and ever since then they have been turning back in time, again and again, to dust off the rare and forgotten tunes or to hone the familiar, tried and true melodies with the aim of carrying them forward to share with their audiences of today.

Kari Larson - Kari performs on mandolin, reso-phonic guitars, lap steel guitar, tenor guitar, reso-phonic ukulele, and vocals.Kari Larson is a consummate multi-instrumentalist and seasoned luthier. She has been playing things with strings since she was a toddler exploring cello, piano, mountain dulcimer, mandolin, and classical guitar. Her muses call to her from the early jazz and swing era, but Kari's life long relationship with music lends her the talent and depth to put her own musical stamp on whatever she does. She has played in several bands that have covered many flavors of early American music. She has appeared on countless recordings from the West Coast to the Midwest with her own distinctive stylings. She performed with Dakota Dave Hull in the unit Hull and Larson and toured nationally for 7 years. Called on time and again to be a side person for many regional acts, Kari's main passion is performing with The DitchLilies.

Lisa Schultz - Lisa performs on guitar, clawhammer banjo, mandolin and vocals.Lisa Schultz has been honing her rock steady rhythm guitar stylings and her dynamic vocals all of her young and adult life. On several occasions she has been likened to the female version of Merle Haggard, Hank Williams or Faron Young. As a multi-instrumentalist and a song stylist/interpreter, Lisa's main musical mission is to unabashedly share The DitchLilies music with audiences near and far. Since 1998 she has had the honor of pickin' and singin' with her two musical soulmates, a 1936 Gibson L37 and Kari Larson.