biography
There’s Broadway, and there’s off-Broadway; there’s off the rack, and there’s way, way off the rack, where attitude, fashion, and fun collide into an explosion of color and personal expression that finds a singular voice in Jypsi, a musical experience delivered via four extraordinary individuals ranging in age from 16 to 26. Siblings who grew up playing music on the road, the three-woman, one-man assemblage is so much more than a double-take-inspiring blast of visual style, they’re an unfabricated, 21st Century reflection of past and present, where the spirit of youth meets the soul of country to create something GENUINE – at once true to their distinct personalities, true to their musical lineage, and true to the music they’re defining as their own.
Whatever her look, decidedly funky to retro chic, youngest sibling and primary lead vocalist Lillie Mae infuses the room with a head-turning, incredibly rich song style. From the Everlys to Marty Robbins and Patsy Cline, legendary harmonies, classic country balladeers and tasteful influences from the world of music are echoed in her delivery, arriving with a beautiful, steady intensity – even a seriousness – and an astonishing warmth that rings well beyond her sixteen years.
Jypsi’s ferocious guitar work comes via older brother Frank, anchoring the testosterone factor for the group, and at twenty, clearly with his eye toward becoming a musician’s musician. Whether he’s taking lead vocal or smoking a fiery path across the rosewood, Frank’s dynamic focus and in-concert energy reflect an honest passion for the music – and for keeping the music honest.
Playfully sexy, and simply stunning – from ultra-mod to casual elegance – 23-year-old Scarlett balances the vocal contributions of her siblings with a focus on instrumentation, playing mandolin and embracing such noted influences as Alison Krauss and Rhonda Vincent. Thoroughly engaging in her stage presence, Scarlett transcends both her beauty and her musicianship, sharing smiles and a manner that draws listeners in as much as it makes them feel welcome.
Few personalities can inspire a Google of “joie de vivre” faster than Jypsi’s 26-year-old elder sister, Amber-Dawn. Fun, colorful, race-up-and-throw-her-arms-around-a-friend passionate, she exudes that same vibrant, feel-good sparkle on stage, vocally and instrumentally. Pink to punk, the woman behind the fiddle connects with a bubbly, even girlish, charm that can’t disguise a musician’s commitment “to stay true to real music,” a mantra at work now as the band readies their Arista Nashville debut disc with Dixie Chicks producer Blake Chancey.
Jypsi is the embodiment of their name: the minstrel spirit, the wanderlust, the tightly woven family bonds, the individuality, and a striking sense of fashion and self-expression. Jypsi is a reverence for history while remaining ultra-contemporary. Jypsi is about feeling, about energy, about possibility … on the edge and over the top. Jypsi is now.