EDITOR’S NOTE: AJ Lee and Blue Summit is No Depression’s Spotlight band for July 2024. Learn more about the band and their new album, City of Glass, in our interview, and watch a video of them performing “Hillside” from the top of a mountain outside the Telluride Bluegrass festival.
Being an Asian American woman in the bluegrass music industry is a narrative of diversity, resilience, and cultural fusion. I was raised in Tracy, California, on an acre of land with horses, chickens, dogs, cats, rats, and possums. My mom was born in Kentucky and my dad was born in Burma, now known as Myanmar. My dad’s family emigrated from Burma to San Francisco in July 1971 to escape persecution by anti-Chinese groups. Because my dad’s aunt offered to sponsor the family in the States, they were able to legally seek refuge. The first to arrive was my grandpa; my uncles John and Jimmy; and my dad, Rodney. They were followed a year later by most of the family. Through years of working odd jobs, my family was able to restore a decent living. They persevered through hardships brought on by ethnic conflict. Eventually my dad graduated college and got a job working IT for the medical technology company Becton Dickinson. My dad met my mom “on a volleyball court,” as my mom tells me, fell in love, and had me. I’m the youngest of four half-siblings, the baby of the family, and, of course, the self-proclaimed favorite.
