Fate eventually led four talented women to the same corner of Northwest Arkansas. Shawn Frick,arrived early from Tennessee, and paid her musical dues over the years in Fayetteville's vibrant live music scene.
Judi Neal covered a lot of ground, from Hawaii to the East Coast. Academics called her to Fayetteville, but she kept her folk music going through the years.
Love pulled Judy "Jude" Dunleavy all the way from New Jersey to Arkansas, after years as a professional singer all over NYC and up and down the East Coast. Of course, she wrote a song about landing in "Arkansas's Arms"!
Love was also to blame for pulling Cece Box to the Ozarks, after years of migrating from Texas to Wyoming, to Colorado, and back to Texas again.
In 2015, Cece, Shawn and Jude found each other and realized that they shared similar musical tastes, and a passion for songwriting and getting the music right. They didn't want to be a jam band. They wanted to do something different, and they instinctively felt there was a confluence of time and place and musical companions to build a great ensemble, with a lot of laughter and no drama.
A year later, serendipity brought bass player Judi Neal into the group. The She's were complete.
Put four accomplished women songwriters in a room together (as the She's do, every week) and magic happens. Tight harmonies, complex arrangements, and originals from all four are honed and perfected. And of course, there's always time for individual and group therapy, political rants, or whatever kind of bonding is called for in the moment.
And yes, the She's also put on a heck of a show. The She's know their craft, know how to entertain, and love their audiences. It's all a bout having fun.
As the She's like to say, "If it ain't easy, it's not going to be She's-y!"