Recipes and Road Stories

By the time Hannah was in the 11th grade and Caroline was in the 7th grade, the Melby sisters were touring the country in bluegrass bands, with Hannah on fiddle and Caroline on mandolin. Today the sisters are the front persons of a very popular Nashville-based country music touring band named HanaLena.

Do they ever have some great stories to tell about coming of age on the concert trail

Recipes and Road Stories: Life on the Road with Sisters Hannah and Caroline Melby of the duo HanaLena blends touching and rollicking road stories with an assortment of tasty recipes, and then tops everything off with plenty of exciting photographs.

Also contributing recipes are friends they made on the road, including Rhonda Vincent, a 5-time Grammy nominee who has been called the "Queen of Bluegrass," and Claire Lynch, who is the reigning Female Vocalist of the Year for the International Bluegrass Association.

The sisters, who grew up in Starkville, Mississippi, performed from an early age-Hannah is now 28, Caroline is 24-evolving from bluegrass to progressive country as they perfected their songwriting and performance skills out on the road. In 2008 they won the "Best New Act in Country Music" competition at the Colgate Country Showdown in the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville-and took home a check for a cool $100,000 presented by country music star LeAnn Rimes.

On the road they have opened for stars such as Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and performed with Grand Ole Opry member Charlie Louvin and the "King of Bluegrass" Jimmy Martin, who was a frequent performer on the Opry before his death in 2005.

"Hannah and Caroline remind me so much of the Dixie Chicks," says SLG president James L. Dickerson, whose biography Dixie Chicks: Down-Home and Backstage, was the first in-depth analysis of that group's road to success. "Their musicianship is superb-and they have the grit, vision and good humor to make it to the top."

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING "In recent years especially, the bluegrass world has been a welcoming one for talented youngsters, and that's certainly a good description of Hannah and Caroline Melby. With "Recipes And Road Stories," the gals return the favor, giving outsiders a glimpse into the lives of young musicians learning the art and business of bluegrass and its close musical relatives. They share some funny tales of life in a traveling band, along with some heartwarming ones, too--and more than a few that are both. I look forward to hearing more from their new venture, HanaLena, and after reading this collection--and maybe trying out some of the recipes--I'm sure that you will, too."-Jon Weisberger, IBMA Songwriter of the Year (2012)