BIO


2025 Artist of the Year Nominee IFMA
2026 Folk Alliance Official Showcase Artist
2025 Kerrville New Folk Finalist
QUOTES
"Abbie is leaving her mark by trailblazing a new path. She has fused her dobro playing, singing, and songwriting into a seamless vehicle of musical expression. If you have never seen Abbie live you owe it to yourself to do so… and if you have seen her live…you know what I am talking about."
- Mike England, Bluegrass Unlimited
“an album that’s both introspective and expressive, with the accessibility factor weighing in heavily on each of its entries”
- Lee Zimmerman, No Depression
“DobroSinger is a masterclass in how to deliver a song, taught by an artist who is at the top of her game”
- Ron Olesko, Folk Notebook
"The playing and singing are both impeccable and loaded with personality. You can hear every nuance of the slide, smooth one moment or rattling slightly at the end of a phrase like punctuation; and her intimate, pitch-perfect vocals—wistful, playful, confessional—sound like they’re dancing with the guitar.
- Blair Jackson, Acoustic Guitar Magazine
“DobroSinger is a naked little roller coaster of an album, when we get to hear how good Abbie Gardner really is. By turns awkward, raucous, fragile, and forceful, it sounds like Abbie is in the room with me, maybe sharing a stage and, honestly, I don’t want to follow her. Nobody wants to follow her.”
- Jonathan Byrd, Songwriter & Performer









HIGHLIGHTED PERFORMANCES
• Moab Folk Festival - Moab, UT
• Tuscon Folk Festival - Tuscon, AZ
• Dripping Springs Songwriter Festival - Dripping Springs, TX
• Black Bear Music Festival - Harwinton, CT
• Hudson West Festival - Jersey City, NJ
• High Mountain Hay Fever Festival - Westcliffe, CO
• Falcon Ridge Folk Festival - Hillsdale, NY
• Woodyfest - Okemah, OK
• Crossing Bridges Music Festival - New York, NY
• Rhode Island Folk Festival - East Providence, RI
• Genoa Theater with Beppe Gambetta - Genoa, Italy
• The Studios of Key West - Key West, FL
• Freight & Salvage - Berkeley, CA
• Godfrey Daniels - Bethlehem, PA
• Club Passim - Cambridge, MA
• Bass Hall - Peterborough, NH
• City Vineyard - New York, NY
• Studios of Key West - Key West, FL
• Circle of Friends - Franklin, MA
• Bluebird Cafe - Nashville, TN
AWARDS & HONORS
• Artist of the Year Nomination IFMA 2025
• Billboard Blues Chart #11 - “DobroSinger” 2022
• Finalist Kerrville New Folk Contest 2025
• Winner John Lennon Songwriting Contest - Folk 2008
• Winner American Songwriter Magazine Grand Prize 2008
• "Down the Mountain" featured on Phil Leadbetter’s “Masters of Slide” CD 2021
• Opened for Martina McBride, Lori McKenna, Hot Rize, and Susan Werner.
• Performed with Cindy Cashdollar, Jerry Douglas, Peter Mulvey, John Gorka, Ellis Paul, Nina Gerber, Cara Luft
• Written songs with Chris Stapleton, David Olney, Will Kimbrough, Ellis Paul, Jonathan Byrd, Molly Venter, Marc Douglas Berardo, Janie Barnett, Pat Wictor and more.
BIO
Abbie Gardner is a fiery dobro player with an infectious smile. Whether performing solo or with Americana darlings Red Molly, her songs are propelled by impeccable slide guitar chops. Her live show is truly unique - as an award-winning songwriter, captivating vocalist, and a world-class lap style dobro player, she has an unmistakable sound all her own. This sound of vocals and dobro unaccompanied is masterfully captured on her 2022 CD "DobroSinger." The record hit #11 on the Billboard Blues Charts and #2 on the Folk DJ Charts. It’s a raw intimate recording full of blues and heartfelt ballads. Quite a contrast to Wishes on a Neon Sign (2018) which featured a co-write with Chris Stapleton and leaned on full band production. She's a Kerrville New Folk Finalist (2025) and was recently nominated for Folk Alliance International's Artist of the Year (ceremony in Jan 2026). Though she has traveled around the world with Red Molly, Abbie stands strong as a solo act and has opened for Lori McKenna, Hot Rize, and Martina McBride.