Cindy Cashdollar is an American musician specializing in

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

and

Dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was origin ...

. She grew up in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 200 ...

, where she perfected her skills by playing with bluegrass musician John Herald, blues musicians

Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and band leader. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his ...

, and Levon Helm and Rick Danko of The Band. After residing in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, for 23 years, she has now returned to her native

. Cashdollar received five

Grammy awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

while playing for eight years with

Asleep at the Wheel Asleep at the Wheel is an American Western swing group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception, released over twenty albums, and has charted mor ...

, and has also backed such noted performers as

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, Leon Redbone, Redd Volkaert, Carla Olson and Ryan Adams as a member of his band The Cardinals. In August 2019, Cashdollar recorded dobro and lap steel on "Save Your Love For Me", the new

Grayson Hugh Grayson Hugh (born October 30, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, Hammond B3 organ player and composer. He is best known for his 1988 hit "Talk It Over", and his other blue-eyed soul hits "Bring It All Back" and "How 'Bout Us?". Ear ...

record. In 2003, the

Academy of Western Artists The Academy of Western Artists, based in Gene Autry, Oklahoma, is an organization that honors individuals who have preserved and perpetuated the heritage of the American cowboy, through rodeo, music, poetry, campfire and chuckwagon cooking, and w ...

recognized Cashdollar as Instrumentalist of the Year Award in the Western Swing Music genre. She was inducted into ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' Hall of Fame in 2011–12. She authored a series of instructional videos on her instruments and released her first solo album, ''Slide Show'', in 2004. During the fall of 2004 she was a member of Ryan Adams's band The Cardinals playing the steel guitar live on stage. She also went into the studio with this band and played on the album '' Cold Roses'', although she did not tour the album with Adams & The Cardinals and was replaced in 2005 by Jon Graboff. From 2005 to 2008, Cashdollar played with Elana James, Redd Volkaert (and, sometimes, Nate Rowe), as The High Flyers, appearing on ''

A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' is a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed '' Live from ...

'' twice, as well as playing Austin area venues. In 2006, she toured with

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in ...

promoting his

country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while t ...

album, '' Pay the Devil''. She appeared with him at the

Austin City Limits Music Festival The Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas on two consecutive three-day weekends. Inspired by the KLRU/ PBS music series of the same name, the festival is produced by Austin-bas ...

, on September 15, 2006 (subsequently released on Van Morrison's ''

Live at Austin City Limits Festival ''Live at Austin City Limits Festival'' by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison is a limited edition live album recorded from the Austin City Limits Festival concert at which he was the first night headliner on 15 September 2006. It has ...

'' limited edition recording), and on the television show ''

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show to ...

'' featuring Van Morrison, broadcast in November 2006. Cashdollar plays steel guitar on two of the tracks on Morrison's March 2008 studio album, '' Keep It Simple''. She is an eponymous member of Dave Alvin's 2009 project, Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women.

Discography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official Cindy Cashdollar Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cashdollar, Cindy American bluegrass guitarists American blues guitarists Living people Steel guitarists 1956 births The Cardinals (rock band) members People from Woodstock, New York Asleep at the Wheel members 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American women guitarists 21st-century American women