Jan Bell & The Maybelles

Rima Fand (Arranger, Violin, Piano, Vocalist) 

Tina Lama (Arranger, Upright Bass, Vocalist) 

Philippa Thompson (Arranger, Mandolin, Fiddle, Washboard, The Saw, Vocalist) 

And Special Guest - Hilary Hawke (Arranger, Banjo, Vocalist) 

Rima Fand (Arranger, Violin, Piano, Vocalist) 

Rima Fand is a Brooklyn-based composer, musician and vocalist with a passion for multi-disciplinary performance. She has created music for performances ranging from experimental puppet theater to large-scale tableau vivant to contemporary musical theater to clown shows. She has also played in numerous creative musical ensembles, including the raucous string band Luminescent Orchestrii, with whom she toured internationally for a decade, and currently Sherita, a Balkan-inspired acoustic quartet, as well as Hydra, a women's a cappella trio. 

Rima is an inventor and very interested in that which is innovative, but is also strongly drawn to old traditions. She loves the vibrant, earthy sounds of folk music, and also loves exploring sounds that are strange and new. Her favorite place from which to create is on that edge where the traditional meets the experimental. She is excited by the moment of intersection- when the poetry and archetypal stories of the past speak to the present, and are translated anew into our contemporary context. Pre pandemic, as the violinist with Mozambican xylophone band Timbila Rima travelled to Zimbabwe. Since 2018 Rima has been composing an object-theater/chamber opera entitled Precipice, currently in development with American Opera Project, and is the recipient of a 2020 Opera America Commissioning Grant for this production. Rima met Jan Bell in Dumbo in 2000 and they have been playing together regularly ever since. 

Tina Lama (Arranger, Upright Bass, Vocalist)  

Over the past 17 years, Tina Lama has performed and recorded with various groups throughout North America. Featured on over 20 albums, most recently with the Emmy-nominated group, Gangstagrass, whose music is the theme for the FX Network show "Justified". Toured the U.S. with Jan Bell and the Maybelles (since 2010), who were nominated for an Independent Music Award for Best Concept Album. Regularly performs with jazz, bluegrass, rock and funk bands throughout New York City and the Tri-state Area.  

Tina Lama has had the honor to play alongside many great artists including Tony Bennett, Danilo Perez, Adam Cruz, Jimmy Heath, as well as members of hip-hop groups, A Tribe Called Quest and Black Sheep. Tina earned a Masters Degree in Jazz Bass from Queens College NYC. 

Philippa Thompson (Arranger, Mandolin, Fiddle, Washboard, The Saw, Vocalist) is a British-born and California-raised multi-instrumentalist and singer, who has made Brooklyn her home since 2001. She began studying violin at the age of 9, and eventually earned her bachelor's degree in music from Tufts University. Besides performing regularly with Jan Bell and the Maybelles (since 2005), she is a member of musical groups M Shanghai String Band and the Ukuladies, and has also performed and recorded with Cynthia Hopkins and the composer/performer collective Anti-Social Music. Recent theater/opera projects include Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music and Kamala Sankaram's Thumbrint. She has appeared on stage with Dan Zanes, Elizabeth Mitchell, Beth Orton, and Belle and Sebastian. In addition to performing, Philippa is the director of the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA, a 3-week residency and festival for new music. 

Hilary Hawke (Arranger, Banjo, Vocalist) is a banjoist,, multi instrumentalist and singer known for having a fluid ability to switch between many styles of banjo playing, while preserving the integrity and the beauty of each style. She performs as a singer, guitarist, bassist, banjoist, clarinetist, and fiddle player. Hilary has devoted herself to learning and studying various styles of music including folk, old time, bluegrass but is also a music lover and brings this into her own songwriting and performing.

Hilary was the banjoist for the 2019 Tony award winning revival production of Oklahoma! on Broadway, and one of the banjoists/guitarists for Steve Martin’s production of Bright Star on Broadway. She was the banjo instructor at the Jalopy Theatre in Brooklyn for 10 years, and also founded the Jr. Folk Music School for kids and teenagers and has a full private studio of students. She is also a guitar, bass, and banjo coach for celebrities and actors/actresses and enjoys being a side person in bands e.g. The Maybelles (since 2005), as well as performing in theatre productions around the country. Hilary has studied at Columbia University, University of Georgia and the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam.

Jan Bell (Composer, Lyricist, Guitar, Harmonica, Vocalist) From a coal-mining village in Yorkshire England, Jan Bell made her name as a songwriter in NYC. Over the last twenty years recording seven critically acclaimed albums made in New Orleans, Eureka Springs AR and Brooklyn. Singer songwriter and band leader of  "The Maybelles” who have opened for Wanda Jackson, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, & Odetta. Independent Music Award winner for Best Alt. Country album, and Best Concept album ‘Dream of the Miner’s Child’ dedicated to Bell’s grandfather.  

Dumbo Dozen Award for ‘Impactful work in the community as musician and curator. Brooklyn Country Music Award for ‘Dedication to Folk Music in NYC’.  

Festival stages include River to River Festival, Hudson River County Fair, Bronx Botanical Gardens Festivals, Dumbo Arts Festival, Brooklyn Bridge Park Festival, Governor's Island Opening Day, Prospect Park Harvest festival, The International Bluegrass Music Awards, Ozark Folk Festival, Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, and in the UK: Broadstairs Folk Fest, Yorkshire Moors Fest, Devon Folk Festival, and Glastonbury.  

NYC highlights: The Woody Guthrie Archives commission, Joe's Pub, Chelsea Women’s Prison; 'The Winding Stream' Documentary opening for Rosanne Cash at Independent Film Center. ​​Brooklyn Arts Council September 11th memorial Sing at Powerhouse, DUMBO. Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, Songwriters In the Round on the Masters Stage with Claire Lynch, and The Gibson Brothers. Opening for Ramblin' Jack Elliot  at The Bell House. International Bluegrass Music Awards, IBMA Nashville - Roots and Branches Stage. MacDowell Colony 100 year celebration in Central Park. 

The Maybelles began as a duo with Melissa Carper in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

Katy Rose Cox joined three years later and the trio toured the UK. Melissa and Katy both relocated to Austin, Texas.

Megan Palmer stepped in when she lived in Brooklyn, before moving to Nashville, Tennessee. 

Tim Luntzel the 'May Bro' as he liked to say, left us for Bass Player Heaven. We remember him in our hearts with love and gratitude.

An EXPERT BAND ! Celtic tinged, Appalachian influenced repertoire puts their album in my Top Ten Folk Albums.” - Chuck Eddy

— Village Voice

British-born, Brooklyn-residing Jan Bell leads the Maybelles into up-tempo, soulful country.” - Recommended

— Time Out NY

I love bands that are willing to explore new territory. I love the instrumental combination, the old-time real country feel, the close harmonies and the sprightly fiddle playing. I think you all are onto something big. Thanks so much for sending me a copy of Leavin' Town.” - Dave Higgs

— Bluegrass Breakdown, Nashville Public Radio

We just love The Maybelles...memorable songs, great spirit, lovely and lilting harmonies---plus they're just plain fun. Its great to hear them re-inventing a whole new kind of old-time music.” - Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton Levy

— Founders, Rounder Records

Of all the music the Be Good Tanya's gave me, my favorite is The Maybelles. They sound like they might be the grand daughters of country greats from the 1930's, The Wild Wood Flowers””

— BBC Radio London