Tickets are still available for tonight’s show! Buy your tickets at the door in the Fletcher Theater lobby beginning at 7 p.m., or at the Duke Energy Center Box Office (located on the Wilmington St side of the Center) between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Tickets will only be available online until about 3 p.m., and you can save money on online fees by purchasing your tickets in person. We hope to see you tonight! Boston-born Aoife O’Donovan (pronounced “ee-fah”) is known for her ethereal vocals and substantive songwriting. Her powerful performances — including appearances at Newport Folk Festival and Celtic Connections — continue to garner her praise in the folks and roots world as she has “the ability to surprise an audience with the contrast between her gentle appearance at the microphone and the invisible punch of her performance.” (The Guardian) O’Donovan’s 2013 solo debut, Fossils (Yep Roc), is celebrated by American Songwriter as “that of a seasoned and experienced performer — one whose haunting folk tunes are beautifully matched by her own mellifluous vocals” and dubbed a “must listen” by Rolling Stone. Rich in tender vocals and unexpected textures, Fossils bears the remarkable fruits of a creative partnership with Grammy-nominated producer Tucker Martine (Tift Merritt, The Decemberists). Both joyously open and profoundly private, the album showcases the range of O’Donovan’s thoroughly modern, deeply rooted music.
While Fossils may technically be a debut of it’s own kind for O’Donovan, the singer-songwriter has built up an impressive resume. After graduating from the New England Conservatory, she spent the better part of a decade as the lead singer and principal songwriter/song-finder of Crooked Still, which grew into one of the world’s most acclaimed progressive string groups over the ensuing decade. The stunning versatility and appeal of her voice brought her to the attention of some of the most eminent names in music and led to collaborations across a wide variety of genres with everyone from Alison Krauss to Dave Douglas and regular appearances on A Prairie Home Companion, along with a role as vocalist on the Grammy-winning Goat Rodeo Sessions alongside Chris Thile, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer and Stuart Duncan.
Singer-songwriter Kristin Andreassen, who has traveled the world with stringband sensation Uncle Earl, will perform a 30-minute opening set before joining O’Donovan on harmony vocals and harmonica. Among her many credits, Andreassen won a Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest for her song “Crayola Doesn’t Make a Color for Your Eyes,” and she has released an acclaimed solo album, Kiss Me Hello. In February, she’ll release a new album, Gondolier, that draws upon her varied musical experiences in service of her captivating gifts as a songwriter and vocalist. Existing at the intersection of traditional music and inquisitive indie-folk, Gondolier features a collection of songs and performances that find hope in the midst of life’s trials, new meaning in old truths, and inventive uses for timeless sounds and textures. O’Donovan provided some of the harmonies on Andreassen’s new album, too!
