Article and photos by Ericka Kastner
Early exposure to musical performance prompted two Salida teens, known on stage as The Powell Sisters, to enter the Colorado bluegrass music scene. Years later, they’re strumming their way into house parties and music festivals across the country.
Phoebe Powell, 16, says she was first inspired to learn the fiddle during a PBS broadcast performance of Celtic Woman. As she watched the band’s fiddler dance barefoot across the stage, then-9-year-old Phoebe told her parents she wanted to learn to play the fiddle. Six and a half years later, not only can Phoebe dance while she fiddles, she also sings harmonies beside her sister on stage and last year added plucking the banjo to her repertoire.