Biography

The name Tina Adair has become synonymous with excellence as far as female vocalists in bluegrass music are concerned. Her family band, The Adairs, gave Tina her first introduction and exposure to the industry and when Tina was just 17 years old, she signed a recording contract with Sugar Hill Records. Her first album, Just You Wait And See, was released in ’97, produced by Jerry Douglas and featuring such luminaries as Chris Thile, Bryan Sutton, Aubrey Haynie, Viktor Krauss, Charlie Cushman, Keith Little, and Alan O’Bryant. The project was a success and garnered praise from radio and critics. After four years touring, Tina came off the road to attend college, though she did release one self-produced CD, All You Need, in 2000.

After graduating from Nashville’s, Belmont University as an undergrad, Tina went to work in Nashville while also attending graduate school. But the music in her soul just couldn't be denied. “One of my goals was to always get a college degree and was highly encouraged by my family. My brother and I were first generation college students, and my parents worked very very hard in order to pay for both both of our college educations. I was very blessed! Another dream of mine was to become a resident of Nashville, TN. Therefore, Belmont University was where I studied and obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree majoring in Music Business, perfectly suited to my long term goals. "Upon graduating from Belmont, I began work in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business at Belmont, where I still reside." Adair adds..."I am currently the Director of Advising in the Curb College and I have been at Belmont now for 20 years!"

In February 2012, Tina released a solo record titled Born Bad which she recorded at Nashville's historic OceanWay Studios. Less than a year later, in December 2012, Tina joined forces with four friends and prominent women in the bluegrass industry to form the all star female group, Sister Sadie. Sister Sadie has experienced incredible amount of radio and chart success since their start and was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Bluegrass Album in 2019. The band has also made many appearances on the coveted GRAND OLE OPRY stage, making their debut on March 30, 2019. Sister Sadie has also been highly recognized by their peers with the IBMA, as recipients of the Vocal Group Of The Year award three years in a row (2019, 2020, 2021), as well as IBMA Entertainers Of The Year in 2020 making history as the first all female group to win both of these awards.

October of 2020 brought exciting changes to Tina’s musical journey in the form of a new solo recording contract with Engelhardt Music Group of Nashville, TN. She released her debut project for her new label in the Spring of 2021, a full length self-titled album which proved to be a chart topping success entering the new year with the number #1 single, "Still Got a Long Way To Go." It was also during this time that the Country Music Hall Of Fame had included Sister Sadie in their “Country Currents” series, which was such a huge honor for Adair. Later deciding to focus her attention on her solo career rather than split her time between that and the Sister Sadie band, added another level of transition for her. Tina Adair is currently back in the studio with Engelhardt Music Group and looks forward to releasing new music in 2022.After completing undergraduate studies at Belmont University in Nasvhille, TN, she went to work in Nashville while also attending graduate school. But the music just can’t be denied.

“One of my goals was to always get a college degree and was highly encouraged by my family. My brother and I were first generation college students, and my parents worked very very hard in order to pay for both both of our college educations. I’m very blessed!
Another goal was to live in Nashville, TN. Therefore, I found Belmont University where I studied and obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree majoring in Music Business, perfectly suited to my goals. Boy…it would have come in much handier if I’d only had that knowledge about five years earlier when everything in my music career begin taking off!!
Upon graduating from Belmont, I began work in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business at Belmont, where I still reside. I am the Director of the Advising Center in the Curb College and I have been at Belmont now for 18 years!"

In February of 2012 Tina released another solo record titled "Born Bad" of which she recorded at Nashville's historic OceanWay Studios. For more info on this release please click on this link: BORN BAD CD info.

In December of 2012 Tina joined forces with four other prominent ladies in bluegrass music to form the all star female group called Sister Sadie which features Tina on vocals and mandolin along with Dale Ann Bradley (vocals, guitar), Gena Britt (vocals, banjo), Beth Lawrence (vocals, bass) and Deanie Richardson (fiddle). Since the formation of Sister Sadie they have released a self title project on Pinecastle Records that reached #1 for four months on the Roots Music Charts and #4 on the Billboard Bluegrass charts. Their sophomore project title, Sister Sadie II was released in August of 2018 and in 2019, debuted at #2 on the Billboard Bluegrass charts & was nominated for a GRAMMY Award in the top five for Best Bluegrass Album category. They also made their debut on the GRAND OLE OPRY on March 30th, 2019 : SISTER SADIE. Tina and her bandmates in Sister Sadie took home the prestigious IBMA Vocal Group of the Year Award at the 2019 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards making history as the first all female band to win this coveted award! Fast forward one year, to the 2020 International Bluegrass Music Awards, and Sister Sadie made history once again as they won the coveted Entertainer of the Year being the first all female group to ever win this award as well as taking home their second Vocal Group of Year award!