Grammy-nominated band Della Mae to perform for free in Vietnam

American bluegrass band Della Mae performs at a press conference at the U.S. Consulate General’s American Center in Ho Chi Minh City on April 24, 2016.-Dong Nguyen/Tuoi Tre News

The five members of Della Mae will hold three shows open to the public, including a Wednesday show at 8:00 pm at the Lan Anh Stage in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City.

Local pop star Van Mai Huong will also share the stage.

Free tickets for the show were released by the U.S. Consulate General.

The two other shows will take place in the central city of Hue, at Tay Thai Hoa Stage at 8:00 pm on April 30 and An Dinh Palace the night after.

Besides delivering public shows in Ho Chi Minh City and Hue, the band will also offer master classes and do some charity activities, including visiting a blind school and people with mental illness in both cities.

The band’s trip to Vietnam is part of a series of activities held by the U.S. Consulate General to promote cultural exchange and enhance mutual understanding between the people of both countries.

At Monday’s press conference in Ho Chi Minh City, five members of the band expressed their pleasure at visiting and performing in Vietnam, a country they labeled beautiful with delicious food.

They also shared their wish to work with local artists to learn more about Vietnamese music.

Formed in 2009, the band is composed of vocalist Celia Woodsmith, mandolin player Jenni Lyn Gardner, guitarist Courtnery Hartman, bass player Zoe Guigueno and fiddle player Kimber Ludiker.

According the band, it was set up to jokingly address the lack of all-female bands on the national touring scene.

Since then, its members have toured over 200 days a year around 30 countries, which as the women said made them more and more connected to one another.

Their first album, titled ‘I Built This Heart,’ was released in 2011.

Two years later, they released their second full length album, ‘This World Oft Can Be,’ which earned the band a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014.

In 2015, they released their self-titled third album, ‘Della Mae,’ which American music magazine Relix said was "one of the better string-band records of the year."

The album was also listed among Telegraph’s best country music albums of 2015, and the American Music Association’s top 100 albums of that year.

In the same year, the band was included in the list of Rolling Stones magazines’ ‘10 New Artists You Need to Know,’ recommending their song ‘Empire’ for their readers to listen to.

Although they maintain a busy touring schedule, Della Mae has also found time to serve as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. State Department's American Music Abroad program, the band says on its website.

In that capacity, they have undertaken a series of extended trips to Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, playing concerts for local audiences as well as collaborating with local musicians and participating in children's music-education programs.