Commissions
Becky Buller
Becky Buller is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter from St. James, Minn., who has traversed the globe over performing bluegrass music to underwrite her insatiable songwriting habit. Becky has written songs for three Grammy award-winning albums: she co-wrote “Freedom,” the lead-off track of The Infamous Stringdusters Laws of Gravity (2018 Best Bluegrass Grammy), “The Shaker” on The Travelin’ McCoury’s self-titled release (2019 Best Bluegrass Grammy), and “Good-bye Girl” on Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway’s Crooked Tree album (2023 Best Bluegrass Grammy).
Her compositions can also be heard on records by Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, to name just a few. Becky is the recipient of 10 IBMA awards, including the 2016 Fiddler and Female Vocalist. She is the first woman in the history of the awards to receive the Fiddler nod; she is also the first person ever to win in both vocal and instrumental categories. Her other awards include the 2020 Collaborative Recording for “The Barber’s Fiddle” and the 2020 Song for co-writing and fiddling on Special Consensus’ “Chicago Barn Dance.”
She has made multiple guest appearances on WSM’s Grand Ole Opry and tours extensively with the Becky Buller Band. Distance And Time, her third album for the Dark Shadow Recording label, was a nominee for the 2021 IBMA Album award. Her first Christmas collection, The Perfect Gift, released during the 2022 holiday season. In April 2023, Becky was inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall Of Fame.
Composition Commission
In Becky’s own words describing the commissioned work, “Jubilee, is my most personal album to date. It’s a song cycle that chronicles my lifelong struggle with depression and anxiety, which reached a dangerous crescendo during the pandemic years.
This collection of songs was originally commissioned by the FreshGrass Foundation as a through-composed performance piece for debut at their May 2023 Bentonville, AR., festival.
Through the generosity of FreshGrass, my band and I, along with my producer Stephen Mougin and engineer Dave Sinko, traveled to North Adams, Mass., where we recorded the album live and all together in the same room in a day and a half.
I wrote all the songs and instrumentals, with the exception of the title track.
I co-wrote the song “Jubilee” with Grammy award winner Aoife O’Donovan just before the world shutdown in 2020. It’s a wistful longing for physical, emotional and spiritual rest. Aoife joined me for harmony vocals.
My incredibly talented band helped me arrange all the music on Jubilee, which really gave us a chance to shine and push past the Bluegrass boundaries.
Above all else, I pray this music brings hope and healing to folks who are experiencing mental health struggles; I want them to know they are not alone.”
