Hilary Gardner and the Lonesome Pines

Vocalist Hilary Gardner, described by The New Yorker as “a singer with a beguilingly subtle wit,” grew up a New Yorker at heart in the jazz hinterland of Wasilla, Alaska. Following stints in Italy and Seattle, WA, she moved to New York City in 2003. Hilary has released four recordings as a leader, receiving critical acclaim from the jazz world’s major publications; DownBeat Magazine declared her “an artist to watch” and has named her a Rising Star Female Vocalist five times, including in 2024.

With her newest recording, On the Trail with The Lonesome Pines, Gardner returns to her rustic roots, delving into repertoire from the “singing cowboy” era of the 1930s-40s, songs described by The Times of London as “Manhattan-meets-moonshine gems.” Featuring Justin Poindexter (guitars, vocals), Noah Garabedian (bass), Aaron Thurston (drums), and Sasha Papernik (accordion), the album evokes the expansiveness and romantic allure of the American West–replete with purple hills, silver stars, and the freedom to roam, unhurried and unworried, under endless western skies. The Wall Street Journal deemed the album “something new and wondrous.” The group has performed to sold-out houses in some of New York City’s most esteemed venues, including Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center and Birdland.

Gardner’s new album, combines elements of jazz and Western swing with lyrics that evoke the spaciousness and romance of the American West. The record won the Western Heritage Award for Best Traditional Western Album of 2024 and was #7 on The Times of London’s 20 Best Jazz Albums of 2024. The album was also named Best New Vinyl Release of 2024 by Secrets of Home Theater and Hi Fidelity. Will Friedwald described the music in The Wall Street Journal as “a sound suggestive of the vast expanses of the open plains, a huge empty canvas that paints an internal picture—a surreal, extraplanetary prairie of the mind….something new and wondrous.”

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