Hilary Gardner and The Lonesome Pines

Alaska-raised, New York City-based vocalist Hilary Gardner and her band, The Lonesome Pines, transport audiences to the nostalgic heart of the American West.

Their debut album, On the Trail with The Lonesome Pines (Anzic Records), won the Western Heritage Award for Best Traditional Western Album of 2024 and was described by The Wall Street Journal as “something new and wondrous. The Times praised the album’s “Manhattan-meets-moonshine gems” and ranked it #7 on its list of the 20 Best Jazz Albums of 2024.

Onstage, the group paints high-spirited and deeply atmospheric soundscapes of the cowboy’s life on the trail—replete with pale dawns, purple hills, and the high lonesome feeling of camping out beneath a vast, star-filled sky.

“These songs remind us that the answers to many of life’s big questions can be found in contemplative solitude, the beauty of the natural world, and the arms of a loved one,” says Hilary.

Line-up:
Hilary Gardner – vocals
Justin Poindexter – guitar, vocals
Sasha Papernik – accordion, vocals
Ed Babar – bass
Flavio Li Vigni – drums

“…a delightful innocence, tempered by Tin Pan Alley wit and romance and a drowsy desert atmosphere to soothe 21st-century woes.  ★★★★” – The Times

“A sound suggestive of the vast expanses of the open plains, a huge empty canvas that paints an internal picture…something new and wondrous.” — The Wall Street Journal

“Ms. Gardner’s delicate, winsome approach rises into an exalted realm of feeling and experience common only to the finest interpretive singers.” — The Absolute Sound

“…her golden tone and vocal ease shine beautifully…soulful and hypnotizing.” — The New York City Jazz Record