Aoife O'Donovan

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Music

When

28/07/2024 20:00

Where

Skibbereen Town Hall

Tickets

€25.00

Aoife O'Donovan + support by Molly O'Mahony

Aoife O’Donovan is a Grammy-award winning singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music radiates with a timeless charm and contemporary allure beyond genre. Born in Newton, Massachusetts, Aoife began her musical journey at a young age, eventually blossoming into a celebrated artist known for her captivating vocals and heartfelt compositions.

With a diverse range of influences, including folk, bluegrass, and indie rock, O’Donovan’s distinctive sound weaves together intricate melodies and introspective lyrics. She gained widespread recognition as a founding member of the progressive folk band Crooked Still and the folk trio I’m With Her (with bandmates Sara Watkins and Sarah Jarosz). 

Deemed “a vocalist of unerring instinct” by the New York Times, O’Donovan has released three critically-acclaimed and boundary-blurring solo albums: Fossils, In the Magic Hour and 2022’s boldly orchestrated and literarily crafted Age Of Apathy.  The album received 3 Grammy nominations (including Best Folk Album) and includes the song “B61” - awarded Folk Alliance International’s Song Of The Year.

2024 brings the release of her 4th studio album All My Friends. Inspired by the letters and speeches of suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt (who founded the League of Women’s Voters), the album questions how much has really changed for American women a century after gaining the right to vote. Amidst a lush soundscape of brass, orchestra, girls' choir and her own compelling vocals, she explores the nations evolution through her compassionate songwriting and voice.

O’Donovan continues to enchant audiences worldwide with her soul-stirring music and unwavering passion for storytelling through song. She is the featured vocalist on The Goat Rodeo Sessions (the group with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile), performed with over a dozen symphonies including the National Symphony Orchestra, written for Alison Krauss and spent a decade as a regular contributor to the radio variety shows “Live From Here” and “A Prairie Home Companion”.

 

West Cork's Molly O'Mahony’s power lies in her ability to convey deep and nuanced feelings through her voice and words. Her critically acclaimed debut album ‘The House Of David’ was released in November 2022. It held the 'Album Of The Week' spot on RTE Radio 1 and was nominated in the 'Best Debut Album' category at The Hotpress Awards, 2023. She released four singles in the lead-up to the album release - Remember To Be Brave, Brother Blue, Her Song and Bittersweet- samplings which reflect the broad span of influences in her songwriting, her verbal virtuosity and her ability to convey pure feeling. In December 2023, she released ‘Extension’, an addendum to the record, which featured the RTE Concert Orchestra. In the past year she has opened stages for Mick Flannery, Damien Dempsey, Mary Coughlan, Ye Vagabonds, Susan O’Neill and Soda Blonde, to name but a few.