Donna Ulisse - 'An Easy Climb'

Hampton native Donna Ulisse’s plans to tour Russia in July, where her band was the only American bluegrass act at the second annual Russian Bluegrass Festival at the Kremlin.

It is further proof that music is a universal language, and the music on her newest CD, “An Easy Climb,” is something bluegrass enthusiasts around the world can thoroughly enjoy. It runs the grass gamut from wild ’n’ crazy to mellow and meaningful, a showcase for Ulisse and the Poor Mountain Boys.

Her first claim to fame was local as, for several years, she made the rounds of Hampton Roads venues, playing straight-ahead country. Next stop – Nashville, where she records.

As usual, Ulisse wrote or co-wrote all of the songs, aided and abetted by her husband, Rick Stanley, cousin of one of the most famous names in bluegrass, Ralph Stanley. Almost all the songs have to do with family – husband, brother, nephew, grandparents and assorted other loving relatives.

You really get to know and love the lady, whose background is Italian, and “foreground” the Virginia mountains.

– Frank Roberts

Tracks to download “Let It Rain,” “Black Snake,” “Where the Cold Wind Blows”

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