Simpson's father, a documented descendant of Pocahontas, plays banjo and her Taiwanese mother is a classically trainedpianist. She is the sister of noted violinist Ann Marie Calhoun and her brothers play guitar. She began learning to play violin at the age of five. She says she grew up listening to her sister play. Like her sister she played bluegrass music in her family band. According to Simpson, "her classical background gives her a wider variety of tones and better control of her sound than she would have had she only studied bluegrass." Mary attended Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia. She has a double major in music and economics from the University of Virginia.
Mary Simpson, Roy Myers, Ryan Phillips, and David Cosper connected the summer of 2005 at the Maury River Fiddler's Convention in Buena Vista, Virginia. Myers and Phillips had been performing around Richmond while Simpson and Cosper appeared in Charlottesville while studying music at the University of Virginia. The Richmond faction invited the Charlottesvillians east for some gigs and the band was formed. As to how an historic event – the "unhappy reaction of whiskey makers to a tax imposed by the federal government during George Washington's presidency" – ended up being their band name, Phillips explains: Tim Deibler, bass player − a resident of Charlottesville, Virginia, who studied music at Christopher Newport University − is the newest member of the group. The Whiskey Rebellion went into the recording studio this and recorded several new songs which will be included on an upcoming EP.
The Whiskey Rebellion "plays a mostly high-energy, joyful brand of bluegrass, with skillful picking and two and three-part harmonies" according to The Virginia Pilot. But, while a "casual listen" to their debut album might tempt one to "plug the band into the category reserved for pure bluegrass," warns the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "... there's much more to The Whiskey Rebellion than twang and high lonesome." Says founder Simpson: "We play a lot of bluegrass standards, and we also take a lot of popular songs and cover them, bluegrass style."
Personnel
Musicians performing together in The Whiskey Rebellion include:
The Whiskey Rebellion music video, The Ballad of Chester Copperpot, took the 2010 Gold Level Oregon Film Awards: Oregon Film Competition at the .
The Whiskey Rebellion mandolinist Jared Pool performed a show with John Starling, founding member of The Seldom Scene, in Starling's hometown of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Ryan Phillips placed first in the 2010 guitar contest. The prize was a custom Left Handed Fairbuilt . He placed third in the same contest in 2007.
The Whiskey Rebellion was invited to play the 25th Anniversary of "The Goonies" Festival that took place June 4–7, 2010 in Astoria, Oregon.
Jared Pool placed first in the 2007 guitar contest, winning a Barnburner guitar.
The Pat Ruley Trophy for Best All Around Blue Grass Performer, named for Gary Ruley's father and presented annually at the held in Buena Vista, Virginia, was won by Mary Simpson in 2005.
