"Valerie Smith and her amazing band are a breath of fresh air. Onstage, they present visually beautiful and exciting performances with exceptional musicality. Offstage, they are like family and best friends to everyone, always willing to share that which makes them so very special-their music, their hearts, and their souls."
- Gabrielle Gray, Executive Director International Bluegrass Music Museum, Promoter of ROMP.
"Valerie Smith has a storyteller's sensibility and timing and a singer's soulful vocals that leave her audience waiting to hear the next song."
- California Bluegrass Association, CBAontheweb.org
"Excellent stage act Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike are known for their lively and impressive concerts!"
- Erin Spurling, Maverick Magazine, England
"What a night! What a band! Valerie and her wonderful band played a stormer! We have enjoyed the very best of bluegrass before at Brookfield...or so we thought."
- Loudon Temple, Music Journalist and Scotland Promoter
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Vickie Vaughn - Bass/Vocals
Vickie Vaughn started singing when she was knee-high to a grasshopper. At the age of 9, she was hired as a background vocalist at the Kentucky Opry in Draffenville, KY, where she grew to love Classic Country and Bluegrass.
At sixteen she challenged herself to learn stand-up bass and after graduating high school she moved to Nashville, TN to study Commercial Voice at Belmont University.
In 2010 she released her 4-song EP, which features acclaimed pickers and longtime friends Josh Williams and Clayton Campbell performing three Vickie Vaughn originals and Bob Dylans Blowing in the Wind.
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Laura Ray - Guitar/Banjo/Vocals
Laura Ray was born and raised in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Northeast Georgia. With both parents as accomplished musicians, Laura grew up in a very musical household, singing in church with her siblings and attending summer music camps from a young age. At age 13, Laura took her first guitar lesson from her uncle and fell in love with the instrument. She also became fascinated by the bluegrass style and began playing and listening to the genre non-stop. After watching Earl Scruggs play on television, shew as inspired to buy her first banjo at age 15. Laura’s three siblings also began to pick up instruments around this time, and together they formed bluegrass band Exception To The Rule a couple of years later. In 2010, Laura graduated with honors from Emmanuel College with degree in music education, where she studied classical guitar. In 2012, Exception To The Rule took a break from touring so band members couldfocus on their education and careers, and Laura moved to Nashville to pursue music full-time. She is excited to join Valerie on the road so that she can continue doing what she loves most—making music.
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Corrina Logston - Fiddle/Vocals
Corrina Rose Logston grew up in rural southwestern Illinois, 40 miles south of St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents, lovers of traditional bluegrass music and musicians themselves, always had a record playing and readily encouraged Corrina In her teens, Corrina began working with several regional bands, including Bill Jones & the Bluegrass Travelers and the Harmans, and shared the stage with the likes of Charlie Louvin, Jesse McReynolds, and Alison Krauss while finishing up high school. Corrina released her first solo project, Runnin, in 2007. In 2008, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to attend Belmont University. Since moving to Nashville, Corrina has worked with a variety of independent artists and bands in the Nashville area and beyond. Corrina graduated in May 2012 with a Bachelor in Business Administration and a double major in Music Business and Artist Production. She is currently excited about the release of her second solo project, Wind Caught My Bike, a project that showcases her abilities as songwriter, arranger, and producer as well as singer and musician. Corrina is thrilled to be working with Valerie on this years tour and is looking forward to making lots of music on the road!
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