SPRINGFIELD– Springfield native and well-known singer, Ashley Gearing, is returning to Western Massachusetts.

Gearing will perform at the Tri-County Fair in Northampton at the Music Tent as a member of the all-women group she’s a part of, Farewell Angelina, on Sept. 11.

Gearing grew up singing in church and listening to music. She said, “My mom is from Georgia, she raised me listening to country music.” Her love of music and talent gave her success from a young age, and she was offered her first record deal at just 11-years-old.

“Someone in Western Mass. from Nashville, from a record company, heard me sing and asked me to go to Nashville,” she told Reminder Publishing. “I went to Nashville, was offered a deal with Disney, and then ended up with Curb Records.”

Gearing, along with the three other members of Farewell Angelina, had individual careers in country music before coming together to combine their talents. Gearing joined the group in 2018 when member, Lauren Lucas, made the tough decision to leave.

“I started out opening for them, that turned into me playing for them,” she said. It’s something that I’d never thought I’d do

The group is named after Bob Dylan’s song, Farewell Angelina. Gearing told Reminder Publishing when the original members of the band were deciding on a name they knew they wanted a song title as a name. When member Andrea Young, found the song the rest of the group agreed on it.

Gearing said the name is fitting as the song was “Bob Dylan transferring from an acoustic sound to an electric sound, and Bob Dylan is a genreless artist.” Farewell Angelina also considers themselves genreless.

While Gearing admitted that while each member has had their own journey in country music, their music fits into other genres as well.

“Country music is so loved by all and wholesome, I think everyone can connect with the stories and the song,” Gearing told Reminder Publishing. “[But] the cool part about the band is we don’t really fit in the country music box.”

Farewell Angelina has spent the summer traveling around the world performing as part of their Women and Wine tour to promote their newest album, which was released in January. Their performance at the Tri-County Fair will be the first one back in the United States after traveling abroad to Spain and France.

“We like to think of our shows as a rolling party,” Gearing said. “Some of our favorite places to play are festivals and fairs.”

And while Gearing is excited to be back in Western Massachusetts, she said it’s “very emotional” to be playing in the area again.

“It’s so much fun to come back to my roots. The cool thing is, yes it’s my family and friends coming to the show, but it’s also people that have come to my show since I was little and watched me grow up,” she said.”We have a really great music community. There is a different level of respect and love that comes with playing with where you grew up.”