Biography

Filling out a trio of unique, thoughtful originals released since her cover of classic bluegrass proto-feminist anthem, “True Life Blues,” Mountain Home Music Company’s Gina Furtado returns with “Riding.” Like its predecessors, “Submarine” and “Pigtails and Sugarcane,” the single pairs her deeply felt empathy and generous perspective with a memorable melody and a disarmingly unadorned vocal.

Switching from her usual banjo to acoustic guitar, but backed by members of the same ensemble as the earlier singles — sisters Lu (bass, harmony vocal) and Malia (fiddle, harmony vocal) Furtado along with producer Kristin Scott Benson’s husband, award-winning mandolinist Wayne Benson — Gina strikes a contemplative, almost somber note as she sings the opening verses, accompanied only by the guitar:

We’re all riding
Til we make it home
Find a helping hand every now and then
But mostly we must
Go it alone

I’ve been through that shadow
Let’s just say that I know
On the days we’re ridin’
Feeling frightened
We’ll do anything to make ourselves feel strong

“One of my favorite things about songwriting is that it can be so magical in making sense of things,” Furtado observes. “The process of writing about difficult situations often seems to produce the answers I was looking for. That was the case with ‘Riding.’ I was confused, angry and sad because a stranger mistreated me in a very big way for no reason at all. I sat down with a guitar and the song all but wrote itself.”

Punctuated with delicately restrained solos from Malia and Wayne, the sparse arrangement waits until nearly the last moment to introduce harmonies on the final chorus:

So for my heart and for your heart
I’m gonna let it go
For my heart and for your heart
Gonna let it go

“Once it was finished,” Furtado recalls, “I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and gratitude. Even understanding. Forgiveness feels good on both ends. As a great poet once put it… ‘It blesses him that gives, and him that takes’.”

About The Gina Furtado Project
Formed by innovative artist Gina Furtado, The Gina Furtado Project brings unique musicianship and songwriting that breaks free from the assumed constructs of traditional music modalities and makes a new musical statement influenced by emotion, played with the highest skill, and expressing an enormous verve and vitality.

Furtado, known for her work as the banjo player for Chris Jones & The Night Drivers, has a long history with her banjo. Born and raised in Front Royal, Virginia, Gina began touring up and down the east coast in her tween years with her siblings, earning countless ribbons from fiddlers conventions, a strong reputation in the regional bluegrass scene, and a stamp from Bluegrass Today as “absurdly talented.” She later played in a number of regional acts before making her international touring debut with Chris Jones and the Night Drivers soon after joining the group in 2016.

While touring, she is joined by Drew Matulich on guitar and her sisters Malia Furtado, on violin and Lu Furtado on bass, and each brings experience and energy to the band.
Now based in Asheville, NC, Matulich grew up in Georgia and began playing guitar at 8. While studying music in college he performed with several bands of various styles in and around Georgia and Florida before immersing himself in the Bluegrass scene of Western North Carolina. He has toured and recorded with Billy Strings, made a guest appearance on Roland White's album and shared the stage with the likes of David Grisman, Bryan Sutton, Sam Bush, Cody Kilby, and Sierra Hull.

Malia’s musical journey began at the age of 3 with classical violin lessons and took a turn, when she attended her first festival, Galax Old Fiddlers Convention, a few years later. Since then, she has performed with a number of different groups, taken home a range of prizes, graced the stage of numerous venues up and down the East Coast and given private lessons in both bluegrass and classical playing. Malia is the Director of Education at the Front Porch Music School in Charlottesville, VA, and currently teaches adult continued education courses in bluegrass fiddle at Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, VA.

Lu Furtado has been attending bluegrass and old time music festivals since she was born. She began playing multiple instruments at the age of ten, and has been a winner at the Galax Old Fiddlers Convention playing the Clawhammer banjo, as well as flat foot dancing. She has toured and recorded with multiple bands of varying styles, including Banana Express and the Hi Flyers. She taught banjo for several years at the Galax Elementary School and private music lessons for many years. She brings double trouble to the Gina Furtado Project with her silky, low harmony vocals as well as her stylish, groovy bass playing.