Dolly Varden is a Chicago band built around the singing and songwriting of husband and wife duo Steve Dawson and Diane Christiansen.

Lisa left the band in early 1995 and was replaced by Mike Bradburn, thus cementing the line-up that has remained unchanged to the present day (Feb 2011).

The Thrill of Gravity (1998) was produced by Dolly Varden and recorded by Bundy K. Brown at Uberstudio in Chicago, and features guest appearances by David Grubbs (piano), and Julie Liu on violin.

"Magnets" significantly raised the group's profile with rave reviews in Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, No Depression Magazine, Uncut, CMJ and many daily papers across the U.S.

Pedal Steel legend Al Perkins (Rolling Stones, Gram Parsons) makes a guest appearance on the songs "There's A Magic" and "The Lotus Hour".

[4] In 2004, guitarist Mark Balletto formed a band called My Record Player and made a self-titled pop rock album reminiscent of the music that originally inspired him to play guitar.

[6] The band released their fifth album, 2007's The Panic Bell (Undertow Records), to great reviews in the U.S. and the U.K. and toured the East Coast and the UK in the same year.