The Notorious No-Gig Girl Band

With everything shut down in 2020, The Notorious No-Gig Girl Band formed when four friends who had met at the Desert Bluegrass Association workshops decided to break COVID quarantine and jam outdoors in a city park. Spaced well apart from each other, the group played and sang for the pure joy of being together and making music. Playing every week in (nearly) all weather, they developed a following among park visitors, and were especially popular with the under-4 set.

Jennifer Johnson on bass brings raucous good humor and a strong beat. Karen Dismachek on guitar and fiddle lays down a mean groove. Louise Courtney plays an unusually soft-spoken banjo, but has been known to let her rip on occasion. Suzette Sommerer on fiddle just plays whatever the heck she feels like. All four sing like angels (possibly angels with tarnished haloes), and their tight harmonies really bring the band together. Made up entirely of musicians who either took up their instruments late in life or who came late to bluegrass or both, they are a great example of how it is never too late to find passion for something new. Who ever thought that one day this group would be gigging? And no, they are not planning to change the name!