Bio: Dionne Ward, Mandy Miller and Bonny Elifritz of Kindred

Dionne Ward, originally from Oregon, relocated to Indiana at the age of twelve. Her parents bought her a used set of drums for her fifteenth birthday and it was then that her love of making music was born. In September of 2002, she picked up a guitar and began taking lessons. She has also recently added various hand drums to her rhythm repertoire. Music and musicians have always inspired Dionne, but it is other independent female singer-songwriters who have inspired her most.

Mandy Miller is an Indiana native. After learning to play guitar at age 24, she has since learned the mandolin and continues expanding her growth on the six string. Her latest venture is teaching herself slide guitar. Mandy now teaches guitar and mandolin in her home studio. During her childhood, viola and trumpet were but stepping stones on her musical path. Mandy's musical inspiration comes from a long list of female singer-songwriters who have carved out a path for many others to follow.

Bonny Elifritz grew up in Ohio and lived in several states before settling in Indiana. At age fifteen, she received her first guitar and began teaching herself to play chords from instructional books. Bonny developed her sense of rhythm and the ability to "play by ear" from learning to strum along with her favorite music, including reggae, funk and folk. In the past few years, she has turned her attention to learning bluegrass guitar.

Kindred was founded by Mandy and Dionne in 2003, and they enlisted Bonny in 2005. Kara Barnard, who produced Kindred's first CD in 2004, has aided all three women in honing their musical skills. They can often be found working up new versions of old classics, or performing their own songs, with their large collection of musical instruments.

Click here to contact Kindred regarding gigs, or click here to sign up for Kindred's mailing list.