The Magnolia Sisters bring together five women linked not by blood but through close friendships and devotion to traditional Cajun music. They perform both high-energy dance numbers and reflective older ballads drawn from the deep traditions of Acadiana, a range first documented on their 1995 Arhoolie Records debut Prends Courage. Rounder followed with Chers Amis in 2000 and Après Faire Le Boogie Woogie in 2004. Within this uncommon all-female Cajun ensemble, every acoustic instrumentalist maintains strong ties to the genre and appears with other groups as well. Just two members were born in Louisiana.
Ann Savoy, a founder in 1995, is married to Marc Savoy; the couple performs together in the Savoy-Doucet Band with Beausoleil’s Michael Doucet, and she contributes to additional projects. Born in Virginia, she sings and plays accordion, guitar, fiddle, and bass while also having written Cajun Music: A Reflection of a People. The other founder, Jane Vidrine, once served as a National Park Service folk-arts coordinator whose work led her to investigate folk traditions; after marrying John Vidrine in 1984 and settling in Lafayette, Louisiana, she became curator of a Cajun museum, and the pair performs with Nez-Piqué.
Tina Pilione, Lisa Trahan Reed, and Christine Balfa complete the roster. Originally from California, Pilione plays fiddle, bass, and mandolin; a 1978 Seattle concert by the Balfa Brothers prompted her relocation to Louisiana, where she later studied zoology at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, worked for the state, then began building accordions with Marc Savoy and joined Jesse Leger & the Lake Charles Ramblers. Reed, raised in Scott, Louisiana, sings and plays triangle and bass; her father is Cajun accordionist Harry Trahan and her great-uncle is Cajun musician Bixby Guidry, and she performs with husband Mitchell Reed in Vieux Temps. The remaining Louisiana native, Christine Balfa, grew up in Tepetate, contributes vocals and plays guitar, rubboard, banjo ukulele, and triangle; her father is Dewey Balfa, and with spouse Dirk Powell she belongs to Balfa Toujours.
Arhoolie Records issued Stripped Down in 2009 with Ann Savoy, Jane Vidrine, Lisa Trahan, and Anya Burgess.
