Wildwood Girls
Bands / Ensembles
The Wildwood Girls (1977–1999) were a all-woman bluegrass band, formed in the Chicago area as the Wildwood Pickers who later relocated to Speedwell, Tennessee. Banjo player Kim Koskela founded the band at 16 with Robin Koskela, guitarist Muriel Anderson and fiddler Kathy Jones. The name came from the Carter Family song "Wildwood Flower," and the early band wore blue-and-white checked blouses modeled on those of the Carter Sisters. By June 1982, when the band played Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom festival, the lineup was Ma Koskela on bass, Kim Koskela on banjo, Susie Koskela on mandolin, Robin Koskela on vocals, Holly Brown on fiddle and Muriel Anderson on guitar. Kim Koskela, later Kim Clauson, was the only original member to stay through the band's whole run. Later members included bassist Nancy Cardwell in the early 1990s and guitarist and singer Cindy Puckett in the mid-1990s. The band released six albums on its own label and broke up in 1999.