Big Richard Feat: Miss Leo & The Handsome Fellers Live At The Siren!

The world-class musicians in Big Richard initially convened in 2021 for a festival date. The
quartet showed up to the one-off like it had been together for years, bursting with jaw-
dropping virtuosity; playfully irreverent stage banter; stunning four-part harmony vocal
interlace; imaginative arrangements; a refreshingly eclectic repertoire; and a healthy dose of
lady rage.

Quickly things for the Colorado-based, neo-acoustic supergroup morphed into something way
bigger than a one-and-done appearance. The sellout club shows, and the confirmed festival
dates across America drastically changed its members’ lives and, in one case, livelihood—fiddler
Eve Panning left the security of her middle school teaching job to go on the road. Now, Big
Richard is poised to penetrate the Americana music world and beyond. To date, the quartet has
issued 3 singles, the Live from Telluride album, and it has new music on the way.
“You know the satisfaction when you add the missing piece to a puzzle?,” asks cellist Joy
Adams. “That’s the feeling we have—there was a hole for aggressive and empowered females
in this scene. We are filling that with Big Richard.” She continues: “We take what we do
seriously, but we don’t take ourselves seriously.” Bassist and guitarist Emma Rose adds: “This
group is an opportunity to share our full selves—be honest with emotions, showcase our chops
a bit, and break through the wall of what women are expected to be.”

Big Richard features four well-established career musicians who are artists in their own right
outside the group, and remain in-demand side person musicians. The quartet includes platinum
recording artist Bonnie Sims on mandolin (Bonnie & Taylor Sims, Everybody Loves an Outlaw, Bonnie and the Clydes), multi-genre musician Dr. Joy Adams on cello (Nathaniel Rateliff, Darol Anger, Half Pelican, Bruce Hornsby, Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea, Ben Folds), Emma Rose on bass and guitar (Sound of Honey, Daniel Rodriguez, Whippoorwill, Courtney Hartman), and Eve Panning on fiddle (Lonesome Days, TEDx, Barrage, Hollywood Film Score Orchestra). The four musicians have previously played together in various configurations, but united to rage fiddle tunes and smash the patriarchy in Big Richard.