Knoxville band Redd & The Paper Flowers have evolved along an unexpected trajectory—one influenced by both fortune and tragedy.
The band, which will perform at Dancing Bear’s Fourth Annual Appalachian Homecoming Festival in Townsend on August 1, first formed five years ago when its namesake, guitarist and vocalist Redd Daugherty, met mandolin player Gavin Gregg at Carolina Ale House in Knoxville. The band’s former bassist, Will Ross, invited Gavin to play a set, and a lasting bond was formed. Upright bassist Katie Adams and cellist Colleen d’Alelio entered the fold after meeting Redd and Gavin at an open mic at Knoxville venue Open Chord.
From that point on, the new band’s music came together relatively quickly.
“We arrived at our unique sound based on our individual influences and backgrounds in music,” Redd recalls. “Katie and Colleen were both classically trained, although Katie’s influences were derived primarily from rock and heavy metal bands, while Colleen’s influences are based in coffeehouse-style music and jazz. Gavin has some schooling in music and is rooted in bluegrass. He started playing mandolin at around eight years old and fell in love with the bluegrass scene. I started at about 12 years old but didn’t take it seriously until the pandemic came along. My influences were Janis Joplin and Norah Jones, but I also grew up with a lot of ’60s and ’70s folk and rock influences.”
She adds that her interest soon became something of an obsession.
“The act of songwriting and playing music has been a tool for expressing emotion,” Redd reflects. “I grew up a little ‘rough,’ moving between households in North Knoxville and Clinton, with drugs and alcohol as pervasive influences in my family.”
After earning a master’s degree, Redd’s devotion to music hit its stride when, in 2011, she began working at—and later assumed ownership of—Rush’s Music in Knoxville, a store that services instruments for students and schools. That, in turn, led to a stint as a high school teacher at a local magnet school.
“What pushed me to pursue music full time were my students at L&N STEM Academy,” Redd explains. “I taught mostly sophomore English, yearbook and journalism. They discovered my public Instagram account and saw that I had posted acoustic videos of original tunes, and they submitted them to ‘American Idol’ on my behalf. My students’ encouragement to pursue music full time is the reason I’m doing this now. They believed in me, and I’m so lucky to have met Katie, Colleen and Gavin on my journey. They’re my best friends.”
She cites Punch Brothers, Watchhouse and Nickel Creek as the band’s overall influences.
“However, the four of us are inspired by wildly different genres, and we bring many influences to our sound,” she adds.
The band’s debut album, Appalachian Bell Jar, was released in May 2025. It originated with several songs Redd brought to the band.
“All of it revolved around East Tennessee and greater Appalachia,” she says. “We called it Appalachian Bell Jar because each song can stand alone—within its own bell jar, per se—but they all encompass the same motifs: Appalachia, Knoxville, East Tennessee and the culture of the area.”
While pundits have described the band’s sound in various ways, including “Appalachian jazz,” “Appalachian folk” and “folk-grass,” the members themselves prefer to call it “living room folk.”
The band recently announced the forthcoming arrival of its sophomore release, a six-song EP titled Dead Little Things, which is scheduled for release in October. It reflects the grief Redd suffered after Jason Cooper, a close friend and the previous owner of the store where she worked, was murdered by his roommate in early 2023.
“After Jason’s murder, I inherited Rush’s Music,” she recalls. “I had no idea I was even in Jason’s will, and so much changed so quickly. It was extremely hard to compartmentalize my grief while learning how to run a small, local business. Even though it is considered a ‘small’ business, we still serve 90 schools and around 3,000 band students. Our band directors, students and local artists are some of the most deserving and kind individuals I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.”
She went on to credit her bandmates with helping her through the toil and trauma.
“During this time, my support network became closer and tighter. Katie, Colleen and Gavin are the reasons I’m still here. As scary and sad as it might sound, they kept me upright. I don’t think I would be here without them, and I’m in a much healthier space now that I’ve gotten over the initial bumps.”
Nevertheless, the group decided to put the band on hold in 2023 to allow Redd to take over Rush’s and deal with the fallout of losing Jason.
“Removing the act of making music was extremely hard on me,” she remembers. “It felt like I lost a part of myself, and even though it was difficult, I’m glad I experienced it because I realized that sharing our music is as much a part of me as breathing. I needed it. Not being able to do the thing I loved most reminded me—and the whole band—how important this project is to us.”
As if making up for lost time, the band is already working on its next album, which Redd says centers on birds and, appropriately, may be titled Birdies. The group is hoping for a spring or summer release next year. Redd says the new record expresses feelings that had been residing just below the surface, as well as the need to find humor in everyday happenings.
In the meantime, Redd says the group is looking forward to everything involved with its upcoming appearance at Dancing Bear.
“It’s such a beautiful space in a beautiful part of the Smokies,” she insists. “We are honored that our sound supports the theme they are looking for with the Appalachian Homecoming Festival.”
Redd & The Paper Flowers will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 1, at Dancing Bear Appalachian Bistro in Townsend as part of the Fourth Annual Appalachian Homecoming Festival. Tickets cost $75 and include dinner and the concert, or $135 for the entire day.
Redd & The Paper Flowers will also be guests on our podcast Blount County Live in Mid-September. Subscribe on Youtube or your favorite podcasting app.
