Our most popular event! Great food, music, fun… laid back night. Come back to experience Robinella for her second appearance at Bluestem Hollow’s Great Smoke Out.

Robinella is the captivating stage name and band of singer-songwriter Robin Ella Bailey, hailing from Blount County, Tennessee. Her musical journey began in the late 1990s while studying illustration and art at the University of Tennessee. There, she met jazz piano major Cruz Contreras, and what began as a casual duet—then a bluegrass outfit called The Stringbeans—quickly evolved into Robinella & the CC Stringband, a vibrant fusion of bluegrass, jazz, and country swing.

The group released two independent albums before signing with Columbia Records in 2003. In 2006, after Robin and Cruz parted ways musically, Robinella streamlined the band’s name and released an album on Nashville’s Dualtone Records. This project marked a bold shift toward a richer palette—blending pop, funk, swing, and heartfelt songwriting.

Since then, she has released four more independent albums, each with its own distinctive sound and artistic direction - yet all rooted in emotional honesty and vulnerability. Robinella’s voice has been described as warm, supple, and timeless - her voice is a versatile instrument that can glide effortlessly from jazz-infused phrasing to Appalachian soul, delivering each lyric with both technical finesse and deep feeling.