Cindy Cashdollar

Cindy Cashdollar is an American musician specializing in steel guitar and Dobro. She grew up in Woodstock, New York, where she perfected her skills by playing with bluegrass musician John Herald, blues musician Paul Butterfield, and Levon Helm and Rick Danko of The Band.[1] After residing in Austin, Texas, for 23 years, she has now returned to her native Woodstock, New York.

Cashdollar received five Grammy awards while playing for eight years with Asleep at the Wheel, and has also backed such noted performers as Bob Dylan, Leon Redbone, Redd Volkaert, Carla Olson and Ryan Adams as a member of his band The Cardinals. In 2003, the Academy of Western Artists recognized Cashdollar as Instrumentalist of the Year Award in the Western Swing Music genre.[2] She was inducted into The Austin Chronicle Hall of Fame in 2011–12.[3][4]

She authored a series of instructional videos on her instruments and released her first solo album, Slide Show, in 2004. During the fall of 2004 she was a member of Ryan Adams's band The Cardinals playing the steel guitar live on stage. She also went into the studio with this band and played on the album Cold Roses,[5] although she did not tour the album with Adams & The Cardinals and was replaced in 2005 by Jon Graboff.[6]

From 2005 to 2008, Cashdollar played with Elana James, Redd Volkaert (and, sometimes, Nate Rowe), as The High Flyers, appearing on A Prairie Home Companion twice, as well as playing Austin area venues.[7][8][9][10]

In 2006, she toured with Van Morrison promoting his country and western album, Pay the Devil. She appeared with him at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, on September 15, 2006 (subsequently released on Val Morrison's Live at Austin City Limits Festival limited edition recording), and on the television show Austin City Limits featuring Van Morrison, broadcast in November 2006. Cashdollar plays steel guitar on two of the tracks on Morrison's March 2008 studio album, Keep It Simple. She is an eponymous member of Dave Alvin's 2009 project, Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women.[11]