No Man’s Land: Europe’s Newest Energetic Border-Crossing Bluegrass Band

“Girls just wanna have fun… And our idea of fun is playing hard-driving bluegrass!"

In bluegrass, it is quite common for new bands to be formed during a jam session, when musicians who play together for the first time experience a magical connection that just demands being repeated and shared with an audience. But how often does it happen that there are enough women in a jam for them to form an all-female band?

At the European Bluegrass Summit in Prague in March 2025, Signe Borch (Denmark, guitar) and Kylie Kay Anderson (USA/Netherlands, mandolin) got the idea to start an all-female jam in a quiet hallway of the convention center. Summoning their friend Loes van Schaijk (Netherlands/Czech Republic) to play double bass and complete their harmony vocals, their spontaneous jam quickly attracted a large group of female bluegrass musicians from all over Europe and the USA. Positive vibes resonated throughout the convention center because for most of the participants, it was the first time in their lives that they got to pick exclusively with other women. This immediately raised the question: was it also the last?

Signe, Kylie, and Loes, all seasoned musicians currently active in various projects (Table for Two, Long Way Home, King Springs Road, Loes Bluegrass Band), instinctively knew that when a unique exciting opportunity arises, you have to grab it. Agreeing that the most important feature of a bluegrass band is groove and energy, they recruited two more musicians with a love for hard-driving bluegrass and the skill to play it properly: Simona Uhereková (Slovakia, banjo) and Esther Duerink (Belgium/Sweden, fiddle). The five piece all-female bluegrass band No Man’s Land was born! Since then, the band has spent a lot of time laughing out loud, while preparing a powerful set of hard-driving bluegrass instrumentals, hidden gems with three-part harmonies, and emotionally evocative ballads. Now they are ready to meet the audience and share the fun!