The Be Good Tanyas

The Be Good Tanyas formed in 1999 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Original members Frazey Ford, Trish Klein, and Sam Parton first played together at open mics and tree planting camps in the Kootenays region of British Columbia. Texas native Jolie Holland is also one of the band's original members performing with the group from 1999 to 2000 before returning to San Francisco to pursue a solo career.

In 2000 they embarked on a North American tour that ran from Vancouver to New Orleans, before returning to British Columbia to record their first album Blue Horse released in 2001.

The second album, Chinatown, followed in 2003. Their third album, Hello Love, was released on October 10, 2006.

The Tanyas gained U.S. exposure when the Showtime series The L Word selected one of their songs, "In Spite of All the Damage", for inclusion in the series' soundtrack. A live version of "In My Time of Dying" was also included in the third episode of the third season, in which Frazey Ford was featured as a nun and played the song in the opening sequence. The song "The Littlest Birds" was played during the first season of the Showtime series Weeds and was included in that season's soundtrack. The band's music has also been included in the CTV series The Eleventh Hour and in the feature film Because of Winn-Dixie. Their cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Waiting Around to Die" was also used in an episode of AMC's Breaking Bad. On the episode "Searchers" of the AMC series Hell on Wheels, their rendition of "What Are They Doing in Heaven?" was played as the main characters returned to town after finding a kidnapped baby well and alive.

After the release of the first two Be Good Tanyas albums, Trish Klein collaborated with Alison Russell under the band name Po' Girl, a project that as of April 2007 has resulted in three albums: Po'girl, Vagabond Lullabies, and Home to You.

In 2007 all members of the band pursued their own projects.

Samantha Parton and Jolie Holland in Cambridge, England, 2017

In 2010 Frazey Ford released her debut solo album, Obadiah an album which featured a close collaboration with Trish Klein who is credited as writer on several songs. Ford toured Obadiah with Trish and her band through Europe and N. America through 2010–2011.

In 2011 it was announced the Be Good Tanyas would return to performing with an appearance at the Winnipeg Folk Festival[2] heralding a return to performing.[3] Following this the band released a retrospective of their work featuring new songs in 2012 entitled "A Collection." This release saw them touring throughout N. America and Europe including an appearance in San Francisco at the Outside Lands festival. While there the band was invited to Grateful Dead guitarists' Bob Weir's studio (Tri Studios) where they recorded and video taped three songs.

In September 2012, Parton suffered a concussion as the vehicle she was a passenger in was struck from behind by a pickup truck.[4] Medical procedures on her head during her convalescence revealed an aneurysm behind Parton's left eye as well as a benign tumor. Parton took a leave of absence as the band continued touring North America and Europe in 2013 with fellow Vancouver musician and visual artist Caroline Ballhorn filling in.[5]

In 2014 Frazey released her second solo album "Indian Ocean". The album was recorded at the iconic Hi Recording Studio in Memphis, Tennessee with various members of Al Green's original backing band; the Hi Rhythm Section. Trish Klein also appears on the album contributing electric guitar on two tracks. Frazey toured world-wide in support of Indian Ocean, and announced in 2019 her third solo album "U Kin B The Sun", released the following year to critical acclaim.

In 2016 Parton resumed touring,[6] accompanied by former band member Jolie Holland, and in September 2017 they released their long-awaited album Wildflower Blues, on Cinquefoil Records.[7]

• Frazey Ford (guitar, vocals)
• Samantha Parton (guitar, mandolin, banjo, vocals)
• Trish Klein (guitar, banjo, vocals)

• Holt, Fabian (2007). Genre in Popular Music. University of Chicago Press. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-0226350394.
• Larkin, Colin (2011). "Be Good Tanyas". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
• Loftus, Emily (September 12, 2011). "The Be Good Tanyas, Down and Dirty". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
• Weissman, Dick (2006). Which Side Are You On?: An Inside History of the Folk Music Revival in America. A&C Black. p. 242. ISBN 978-0826419149.

• Official website
• The Be Good Tanyas at AllMusic
• The Be Good Tanyas discography at Discogs
• The Be Good Tanyas at IMDb