Cherokee Maidens & Sycamore Swing

Years at Winfield: 

The Cherokee Maidens have more in common than just their Native American heritage. They share a love for old dogs, spicy tex-mex, crocheted pillowcases and harmonic melodies. Currently they are snugged up in a Sumner County recording studio with their western combo, Sycamore Swing, polishing up their long-awaited debut release, due out this summer. Young Jennifer Pettersen, the Pride of the Prairie Rose, teams up with Okie songbird Monica Taylor and Bartlett Arboretum steward Robin Macy to create a distinctive sound that harkens to another era. Think Bob Wills meets the Andrew Sisters. Familiar territory for Macy, who has performed for decades with other girl groups, some more famous than others. Each Maiden is a songwriter: Taylor has been featured on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion and Pettersen’s own music videos have garnered more than 10,000 hits online. All have acclaimed recordings under their rodeo belt buckles. But it is this collective of timbre and shared passion for the past that sets them apart from the pack and unites them as a tribe. These ladies are backed by a troupe of crackerjack musicians, led by Wichita’s own Kentucky White – guitar-slinger by night and by day a partner at Howerton+White, an integrated marketing agency.