Gene and Gayla Mills

Music – Richmond

Gene and Gayla Mills play acoustic Americana—modern folk tinged with bluegrass and country, featuring Gene’s award-winning original songs. They offer “some of the best organic music you could hope to come across,” (Chris Specter, Midwest Record).
Their CD If Stones Could Talk reached #5 on the Roots Music Folk Chart and #11 on the Folk DJ chart. “Talking to a Stone,” which has won two first place songwriting awards, reached #9 on the Folk DJ Chart.
The duo features impressive lead guitar, solid bass fiddle, and smooth harmonies. Their songs—both originals and covers—tell rich, concrete stories of memorable characters, from miners and farmers to lovers and soldiers.
Covers range from traditional ballads to the Beatles, Larry Sparks to Bob Dylan, Hot Rize to the Louvin Brothers. Gene and Gayla have played at the Oak Grove Folk Festival, Crozet Music Festival, the Richmond Irish Festival, the Nashville Songwriter’s Festival, and the Fredericksburg Songwriters’ Showcase.
Gene’s songs tell rich stories, many based on real people--miners, farmers, lovers, and soldiers. His first CD Waiting for Rain garnered nationwide airplay, and he has won over twenty country and folk songwriting awards. Gene is also an accomplished flatpicking guitarist.
Gayla’s bass playing, solid, rhythmic, and melodic, is accompanied by harmonies tender and sweet.
Married over 25 years, Gene and Gayla have been playing as a duo since 2004. “The dynamic between the both of them is just beautiful. It’s a sweet thing to watch.” (Karen Atkinson, WHAN radio).