Dusty James & Abalone Pearl @ Columbia Heritage Festival

We are so happy to be asked back yet another year to this fabulous event. We play from 1:00-2:00 PM on the Boonslick Stage. 

Both Dusty and Pearl began playing as teens in folk venues and coffee houses where they honed their instrumental skills and the art of crafting tight vocal harmonies. Each possess in-depth knowledge of the music in their repertoire and have taught classes in American folk music at colleges for many years. They have performed in more than 350 shows together since forming their musical partnership. The styles are varied and include traditional folk, roots, singer-songwriter, classic country, Americana, original songs and surprises. They acknowledge Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Doc Watson, John Hurt, Merle Travis, The Carter Family, the folk revival of the ’60s and ’70s and more among their influences.  The duo was named top finalists in the 2021 Great American Song Contest for the lyrics to “Here You See Me Standing” and were named top finalists again in the 2023 contest for the lyrics and melody to the same song. In the 2024 Great American Song Contest, they were again named as Top Finalists for their newest song, “Run for The Border (Mia)”. “Here You See Me Standing” was also a finalist in the international Talent Is Timeless contest in 2023.