Biography

Lisa Burns has been playing and singing for as long as she can remember. She took up the guitar at age 12 but when she started studying upright bass in 1994 she found her true calling. Lisa performs regularly with several bands, including Sidesaddle & Co. and The Sherry Austin Band. She has been seen on stages throughout the West, including Wintergrass (Tacoma, WA), the Strawberry Music Festival (Yosemite, CA), Summergrass (San Diego, CA), the California Bluegrass Association's Father's Day Festival (Grass Valley, CA) and the Rawhide Bluegrass Festival (Scottsdale, AZ). Her recordings include projects with Sherry Austin (Santa Cruz), Last Transit (San Diego), Mary McCaslin (Santa Cruz), and of course, Sidesaddle & Co. (San Jose, CA).

Lisa was named Bass Player of the Year for 2008 by the Northern California Bluegrass Society. Her main band, Sidesaddle & Co., was named NCBS Band of the Year for 2008.

Lisa taught at the American River Acoustic Music Camp in 2007 and will be returning to teach there in August of 2008. She will also teach at the CBA Music Camp in June of 2008. She has conducted bass workshops at many California festivals including the Father's Day festival at Grass Valley.