The name Tina Adair has become synonymous with excellence as far as female vocalists in bluegrass music are concerned. Her family band, The Adairs, gave Tina her first introduction and exposure to the industry and when Tina was just 17 years old, she signed a recording contract with Sugar Hill Records. Her first album, Just You Wait And See, was released in ’97, produced by Jerry Douglas and featuring such luminaries as Chris Thile, Bryan Sutton, Aubrey Haynie, Viktor Krauss, Charlie Cushman, Keith Little, and Alan O’Bryant. The project was a success and garnered praise from radio and critics.
Since then, Tina’s career has been a non-stop, high-speed freight train of excitement and success that produced her first hit solo records, All You Need and Born Bad, during which time she also attended and graduated from Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Adair ultimately became the Director of Advising in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business at Belmont, and still works there today.
In late 2012, Tina co-founded and formed the all-star female bluegrass band, Sister Sadie. As a lead singer, and mandolinist for the band, Tina Adair’s name and talent truly soared as the original band formation would go on to earn a GRAMMY nomination, make their debut and perform many subsequent shows on the coveted GRAND OLE OPRY stage, and win the IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) awards for Vocal Group Of The Year three years in a row (2019, 2020, 2021), as well as Entertainer Of The Year in 2020. As if the excitement of winning these awards wasn’t enough, it really hit home for Tina as she realized the band she was so proud to have launched had actually made history. Sister Sadie was the very first all female band to ever win the Vocal Group of the Year and Entertainer of the Year awards with the International Bluegrass Music Association.
In addition to these accolades, the Country Music Hall Of Fame included Adair and the Sister Sadie band in their “Country Currents” series in 2021, which was another enormous honor for Tina as she was able to showcase one of her first mandolins she ever owned along with other artifacts in the exhibit.
In 2020, Tina Adair signed a solo recording contract with Engelhardt Music Group in Nashville, TN, releasing her first solo project in nearly a decade. The self-titled, critically acclaimed release produced many chart-topping hits, including the #1 tear-jerker “Still Got A Long Way To Go.” 2023 has been another banner year for Adair, who has recently released a sophomore solo effort, Here Within My Heart, again garnering high praise and acclamation from her industry peers, with a revolving list of charting singles and hits.
In February of 2023, it was announced that the Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway album, Crooked Tree, had won the GRAMMY for Best Bluegrass Album in which Tina Adair sang on nine of the album’s thirteen tracks. It was quite the honor for her to have been an important vocal part of the incredible award winning project.
The build up of exciting career changing events and beautiful music journey that Tina Adair has been on has not escaped the folks at print media as she has graced the covers of coveted industry journals like Americana Rhythm Music Magazine (August 2021), Bluegrass Unlimited (April 2023), as well as countless features and in-depth digital interviews and music reviews. 2023 isn’t over yet, and Tina has been busy out playing stages and entertaining crowds with her uncomparable vocal prowess. One can only imagine what may be around the next corner for this leading lady of bluegrass music.