Music: Aoife O'Donovan

I've been posting a lot of book posts and have been neglecting music posts.  My husband, David, has wonderfully eclectic taste in music and pretty much listens to whatever moves him or inspires him.  It is one of the many things I love about him.  Right now we are on a bit of a bluegrass/newgrass (also called progressive bluegrass but I like newgrass better) kick.  There is some really amazing talent out there and I love everything he's been playing for me.  You are going to get a bunch of newgrass artists from me in my next few music posts.  Even if this isn't your choice of music, at least give them a listen.  It will restore my faith in humanity.  Do it for me.

Today I'm going to talk about Aoife O'Donovan.  This is the first song David played for me (I'm pretty sure):

(Aoife O'Donovan & Sarah Jarosz - "Some Tyrant") (I love YouTube)

Yeah, I wanted (needed) to hear more!  Her voice pulls at my heartstrings.  One of the albums David bought  after finding Aoife was her solo album, Fossils.  Listening to the album I hear hints of Joni Mitchell and Edie Brickell.  Aoife is backed by Ryan Scott on guitar, Jacob Silver on bass, Robin MacMillan on drums, Charlie Rose on pedal steel guitar, and Rob Burger on various keyboards and accordion.  Oh yeah, I said accordion.  The way her voice haunting blends with the instruments is just beautiful.  Just listen to this:

("Red & White & Blue & Gold" from Fossils)

She lends her voice to some projects as well, one David just introduced me to this week.  Crooked Still.   The album is called Some Strange Country and the talented artists on the album are:  Aoife on vocals, Corey DiMario on bass, Gregory Liszt on banjo, Tristan Clarridge on cello, and Brittany Haas on fiddle.  They all complement one another so beautifully, listen to this:

("Half of What We Know" from Some Strange Country)

And the last project of hers that I am going to mention is I'm With Her.  I'm With Her is Aoife on vocals and guitar, Sara Watkins on vocals and fiddle, and Sarah Jarosz on vocals, banjo, and guitar.  Those three voices together are magical to me.  Their first album together comes out May 8, 2015 and below is a track from that album:

("Crossing Muddy Waters") 

This is just a taste of what Aoife has out there in the musical world.  She plays in music festivals and plays with several other artists.  I love the way her voice just seems to fit with whatever she wants it to do.  This is just an introduction, if you love her voice as much as I do go out there and find more.  I'd love to hear what tickles your fancy!  

Music: The Avett Brothers and Sarah Jarosz

David and I were watching Austin City Limits on PBS because Nickel Creek was going to be on.  We had been reading about the show for a while so we were just waiting for the episode to air.  It turned out their segment was the second half of the program, up first was a group we had not heard of before, The Avett Brothers.  I was fixing dinner while they were playing and found the first song they played to be really catchy, it was "Down With the Shine."  Any song where they sing about moonshine gets my thumbs up!  Thankfully dinner was a quick fix, and I was able to give them my full attention.  The sound was familiar but new.  It made me think of Mumford and Sons (I love them).  Their musical arrangements were beautiful-they have a cello player who was doing things with a cello I have never seen before.  By the time they were into their last song, "Morning Song" I had tears in my eyes and knew I wanted to hear more.  Nickel Creek's performance seemed glum and pained in comparison which was a disappointment because we had been really looking forward to their part of the show.  After the episode was over, David went through some of The Avvet Brother's music on iTunes (I love iTunes previews).  I had to have "Morning Song" which is on their album "Magpie and the Dandelion."  I downloaded it a few days later, I'm one of those people that ponders things before I purchase them, and have been enjoying it since.

Another artist I've recently gotten into is Sarah Jarosz.  Our household has been on kind of a banjo kick lately, so lots of Steve Marin, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and Tony Trischka (just to name a few) have been playing.  I've been really enjoying it!  As David was looking around at artists you might like if you listened to such and such (I love iTunes), Sarah Jarosz was one of those that popped up.  She has a haunting, lovely, folksy voice that was hard to forget once she got in my ear.  Her voice reminds me a little of Sarah McLachlan or Jonatha Brooke.  David played the song, "Annabelle Lee" and I was hooked.  She has a few albums out, but the one I have been unable to stop playing is "Follow Me Down."  It has the "Annabelle Lee" track, but there is another song on it that is just beautiful, "Ring Them Bells."

I have not been disappointed, and am looking forward to building up my library with these two new finds.  Who knows what they will lead me to next.  I'm also open to suggestions, so if you have an artist you think I should check out please let me know!