Sallie Ford hails from Asheville, North Carolina, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Enjoying a musical upbringing surrounded by performers, she grew up playing the guitar and the violin in addition to singing. On a whim, Ford pulled up her Carolina roots and moved across the country to Portland, Oregon, where she has been writing songs since 2006. She met drummer Ford Tennis and bassist Tyler Tornfelt in 2008, and then a year later met lead guitarist Jeff Munger while he was performing on the streets. Though inspired by the vocal stylings of old jazz, blues and soul singers like Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith and Etta James, Sallie and her three-piece band, 'The Sound Outside,' also seek a contemporary sound to throw into the mix. Continuing to enjoy the musical community in Portland, Oregon, Sallie Ford and The Sound Outside self-released their first EP 'Not An Animal' in May 2009. Portland, Oregon’s “Willamette Weekly” voted them the best new band in 2010.