China was the first time I truly felt like an outsider. I fell in love with the process of trying to become intimate with the culture. Abigail Washburn Read Quote
I sang in a reggae band. And then there was a soul band where I sang back-up vocals and some lead. And I was also in a women’s a capella group. And I was in the gospel choir at school. Actually, I’ve always been in choirs. Or some kind of group. Just because I love singing so much. But I truthfully never thought of it as a career. Abigail Washburn Read Quote
I played piano and was always in the choir. I tried to play flute because all the pretty girls played flute. Abigail Washburn Read Quote
For most Americans, my Chinese music feels like a novelty, and it’s not what it is for me. Abigail Washburn Read Quote
I have a general sense of mission, and I intuitively know when something is influencing that mission. I think this is what I’m supposed to be doing. Doors keep opening. In the end, it’s the best use of my skills. I’ve finally consented to the idea that I’m an artist. Abigail Washburn Read Quote
When I first started playing the banjo and miraculously fell into a record deal in Nashville, TN, there was a period when I didn’t go to China. It hurt. Like a pain in my gut… that pain you feel when you know it’s time to connect with your parents or your God or your child or your past or your future… and you don’t do it. Abigail Washburn Read Quote
I reside in a new colony for the Chinese-singing banjo player, with a population of one. At least I have something I have to do with my life. Abigail Washburn Read Quote
I believe in the old, because it shows us where we come from – where our souls have risen from. And I believe in the new, because it gives us the opportunity to create who we are becoming. Abigail Washburn Read Quote
You have to try things you’re really afraid of, even if you pee yourself a little bit. Abigail Washburn Read Quote
