Red Molly was formed innocently enough during one late night of campsite singing at the 2004 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. It was during those early songs that Laurie MacAllister, Abbie Gardner, and Carolann Solebello came together as a band.
"We'd all been buddies, listened to each other's music, and appreciated what each other was doing, but it never occurred to us for several years to sing together," said Carolann Solebello. "That night we sat up late and sang when everybody else was asleep and hit ourselves in the head and said why didn't we do this sooner?
"We were just sitting around playing songs. I think we played Gillian Welch to start with and then Abbie brought out this bluegrass fake book and we started singing bluegrass and gospel harmonies and it just kind of fell into place. Abbie naturally fell into the top place and Laurie naturally fell into the middle and I fell into the bottom part. It was fate."
It didn't take long before the three began playing shows together even if it did take hundreds of names before they knew what to call themselves.
"To us Red Molly says vibrancy, it says life, it says fire, Americana, passion, and girl next door all at the same time," explained Solebello.
These days Red Molly is the main focus for the three artists. This summer the band will be playing all over the tri-state area plus dates in Connecticut, Maryland, and Massachusetts. The band's success doesn't leave them much time for their solo work, but the three don't seem to mind since Red Molly is really taking off.
Red Molly released the band's first full-length record ("Never Been To Vegas") last summer. The record includes 14 songs by songwriters like Hank Williams, Gillian Welch, Billy Edd Wheeler, Patty Griffin, as well as songs by Abbie Gardner.
"We're kind of a hybrid of bluegrass, country, folk, and even jazz," explained Solebello. "We're like a hybrid of American music.
"When you blend three voices, it can become sort of transcendent," she added. "Occasionally, you get that tingling feeling on stage. Even a song that you've sung hundreds of times can still bring that tingly feeling when the three voices hit all at the same time."
The band is proof that everything old becomes new again. Their sound is so refreshing yet it's a sound your great grandparents would probably love. Red Molly's wonderful musicians and harmonies make every song something special. They're as Americana as they come.
Red Molly will be performing at the Black Potatoe Music Festival on July 15th. For all of their upcoming shows in the area visit www.redmolly.com or
http://www.myspace.com/redmollyband
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
