Individually, Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwarz have solid and highly respected solo careers. Born in Virginia and raised in a musical family, Hawker sings the songs of her Appalachian heritage – gospel harmony, early bluegrass and the unaccompanied singing of the Primitive Baptist Church. Her latest release is with singing partner Kay Justice on the well-received tribute to the Carter Family, “Bristol.” She also appeared on the “Heart of a Singer” collection with Hazel Dickens and Carol Elizabeth Jones and for the past five years has been the president of the West Virginia State Folk Festival. For more than 40 years, Schwarz has been playing traditional and Cajun music – fiddle, guitar and Cajun accordion – including a number of years as a member of the New Lost City Ramblers. Recent years have found Ginny and Tracy combining their talents to present a succulent assortment of choice tradition-based musics.

By their own admission, Ginny and Tracy’s latest recording – “Good Songs for Hard Times” – has no specific agenda. It is, quite simply, a collection of songs they love to sing and play. They note, “We love the good old country favorites… they make it hard to keep from dancing! And old-time bluegrass will always be at the top of our list. Then there’s the REAL old stuff. We will never be too far from sounds with a Carter Family touch, or a little Cajun fiddling, or, of course, a goodly dose of Southern Gospel, both sad and sweet and foot-stomping happy.” In the end, they hope that listeners to their CD will “find a favorite that will start you singing again, or inspire you to add a harmony, or ring in your ears for days, drowning out your worries and your TV.”

The playing of Buddy Griffin and Peter Schwarz bolsters the recording. Buddy is an excellent fiddler and mandolin player from West Virginia who has worked with a number of fine bluegrass bands over the last 30 years. Peter is Tracy’s son and an accomplished Cajun fiddler in his own right. A special treat on this recording is the pairing of father and son on several twin fiddles.