Growing up on a ranch in rural Texas, Minnie was immersed in the sounds of Western Swing and Texas fiddle. She began playing publicly at age 9 in a duo with her younger sister, Ella. The two played their first festival soon after, winning the youth talent competition and showcasing at the Old Settlers Music Festival.

Minnie attended Berklee College of Music and the Berklee Global Jazz Institute and graduated with a B.M. in Performance and an M.M. in Contemporary Jazz Performance. Other honors have included use of the Daniel Pearl Memorial Violin (awarded at the Mark O’Connor String Conference), the Sam Eisenson Award for Country Music (from Berklee), JEN Sisters in Jazz Combo (under the direction of Ingrid Jensen), 2-time nominee/semi-finalist for the NextJazz Legacy Award, and a FreshGrass Award.

Minnie is also passionate educator, dedicated to sharing her love of music, art, history and literature with the younger generation. She has won awards for her visual and textile art and academic achievement as well, and her other skills include training horses, rehabilitating wild waterfowl, and restoring vintage clothing.