Kim Robins and 40 Years Late Bluegrass Band from Bloomington, IN

KIM ROBINS AND 40 YEARS LATE BIO Kim Robins and 40 Years Late is a high-energy bluegrass band featuring a collection of talented musicians and vocalists who share a love for traditional and contemporary bluegrass and country music. Core members are Kim Robins (vocals / guitar), Caleb Edwards (guitar / vocals), Jeremy Morris (banjo), Marie McGlone (fiddle), Spencer Sallee (mandolin), and Holden Stephens (bass). These members bring an immense amount of professional experience to the stage, having performed with and recorded with the likes of Karl Shiflett, Bobby Osborne, Clay Hess, The Grascals, Sam Bush, The Wildwood Valley Boys and Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper. 40 Years Late promises a fresh sound, mixing original songs as well as recognizable bluegrass and traditional country material. There is something for everyone and we look forward to seeing you soon. KIM ROBINS BIO Kim Robins has blended the sounds of hardcore traditional and progressive bluegrass to produce her debut CD, 40 Years Late – a collection of intimate stories that reflect Robins' own journey as told through a mix of original songs and remakes of bluegrass and country legends. Born into a musical family and singing from the age of five in church and in her father's band, Robins was influenced largely by the music of Connie Smith, Loretta Lynn, Buck Owens, Ray Price, Bill Monroe, and Barbara Mandrell. She was an original member, and the youngest, of the Little Nashville Opry in Nashville, Indiana. Her mother's encouragement that she practice daily and sing loud paid off as she traveled all over the country, opening for legends such as Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Barbara Mandrell and The Oak Ridge Boys. Robins grew up with music in her veins but, at age 19, gave her first love a backseat to a new love – her baby girl. After earning two college degrees, singlehandedly raising her daughter and establishing a career, Robins met and married renowned banjo player Butch Robins – and her dream of performing music was reignited. With Butch's encouragement, she started writing music and finding venues to showcase her powerful vocals – starting with singing backup harmony with bluegrass band Misty Stevens and Reminisce Road. Since then, Robins has gained attention with her high-energy, contemporary sound, performing at the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America, The Folk Alliance in Memphis, and opening for Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice at the Historic Jonesborough Bluegrass Series. All at once feminine yet fierce, transparent yet tough, vulnerable yet versatile, 40 Years Late includes 12 songs that center on the theme of heartbreak and redemption. Of the seven which were written by Robins herself, the title track deals with the heartache and redemption of the relationship between a little girl and her father, and of the heartache and redemption of putting passions on hold. With a hint to her years on the road as a medical sales rep, dreaming of one day being able to perform music again, it speaks to anyone who has given a back seat to dreams: And years out on the highway has brought me where I am today We all have a dream but some of us must wait But we are all defined by the choices that we make This time I'm gonna make it work, I'm just 40 years late. Others, of course, deal with romantic heartache and of grace both extended and received. In “It's Me Again,” written by Sheila Stephen and Jerry Salley, Robins sings from the point of view of a betrayed lover: When the touch you left me for Don't satisfy you anymore You'll close your eyes and you'll pretend It's me again. And, in her original “Cry,” she sings from the point of view of the betrayer: I tried a million times to tell him but I couldn't find They say the truth is hidden in a lie Until a warm night in autumn, at a motel close to our home The truth I no longer could deny Now married to businessman and college basketball official Mark Gines, Robins resides in her hometown of Bloomington, Indiana, balancing her career as Community Liaison for a home health agency with time enjoyed with her husband, daughter, two stepsons, and two grandchildren. And, some forty years after she started, she is writing, recording, and performing music -- proving that, sometimes, even forty years late is right on time.