Marie Gustafson
Marie grew up in a musical family. She was encouraged to start singing at a very young age and won her first singing contest at the age of six. She started playing the guitar at 11 years of age and explored a variety of musical
styles before joining her first band at the age of 16: a blues band in which she played the tenor saxophone. Her musical interests were then put
aside for a few years while she finished her education in Toronto and in 1986, she married Shawn. They moved back home to Northern Ontario to raise their two children, Ashlee and Bobby. In 1992, Marie's parents bought her a beautiful Martin guitar. It was their way of telling her it was time to return to her musical roots: bluegrass and country music. That was exactly what she did and there's no turning back now!
As a founding member of HoneyGrass, Marie is known for her powerful voice; it is no surprise that Patsy Cline is one of her heroes. Marie received two consecutive nominations for female vocalist of the year at the Central Canadian Bluegrass Awards in 2009 & 2010. The guitar was Marie's main instrument for the longest time and she still plays it on stage from time to time, but she is now learning to play the mandolin. It continues to be an exciting challenge and it is now her main instrument on stage.
styles before joining her first band at the age of 16: a blues band in which she played the tenor saxophone. Her musical interests were then put
aside for a few years while she finished her education in Toronto and in 1986, she married Shawn. They moved back home to Northern Ontario to raise their two children, Ashlee and Bobby. In 1992, Marie's parents bought her a beautiful Martin guitar. It was their way of telling her it was time to return to her musical roots: bluegrass and country music. That was exactly what she did and there's no turning back now!
As a founding member of HoneyGrass, Marie is known for her powerful voice; it is no surprise that Patsy Cline is one of her heroes. Marie received two consecutive nominations for female vocalist of the year at the Central Canadian Bluegrass Awards in 2009 & 2010. The guitar was Marie's main instrument for the longest time and she still plays it on stage from time to time, but she is now learning to play the mandolin. It continues to be an exciting challenge and it is now her main instrument on stage.