Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike
Bands / Ensembles
Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike (1998–present) is a bluegrass band led by singer and guitarist Valerie Smith of Bell Buckle, Tennessee. Smith, a Missouri native, moved to Nashville in 1992 and recorded her first album in 1997 before forming Liberty Pike the next year. She named the band after the historic road that runs from Nashville through Bell Buckle. The first lineup was Sheila Wingate, Alan Watkins, Andy Leftwich and Jimmy Wingate, most of whom lived in Alabama. Fiddler and multi-instrumentalist Becky Buller joined while she was a student at East Tennessee State University. Wally Hughes (fiddle, resonator guitar) and Lisa Kay Howard-Hughes (mandolin) played with the group for 11 years.