Aoife O'Donovan

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Aoife O'Donovan
O'Donovan in 2021
O'Donovan in 2021
Background information
Born (1982-11-18) November 18, 1982 (age 41)
Boston, Massachusetts
GenresFolk rock, Americana
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Guitar, piano
Years active2001–present
Member ofCrooked Still
Websiteaoifeodonovan.com

Aoife O'Donovan (/ˈiːfə/ EE-fə, Irish: [ˈiːfʲə]; born November 18, 1982)[1] is an American singer and Grammy award-winning songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer for the string band Crooked Still[2] and she also co-founded the Grammy Award-winning female folk trio I'm with Her. She has released three critically acclaimed studio albums: Fossils (2013), In the Magic Hour (2016), and Age of Apathy (2022, nominated for the Best Folk Album Grammy Award), as well as multiple noteworthy live recordings and EPs, including Blue Light (2010), Peachstone (2012), Man in a Neon Coat: Live From Cambridge (2016), In the Magic Hour: Solo Sessions (2019), and Bull Frog's Croon (and Other Songs) (2020). She also spent a decade contributing to the radio variety shows Live from Here and A Prairie Home Companion. Her first professional engagement was singing lead for the folk group The Wayfaring Strangers.[3]

O'Donovan has performed with the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Kansas City Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Louisville Orchestra, and the Utah Symphony Orchestra. In 2012, she sang on most of the tracks on the album Be Still by the jazz group the Dave Douglas Quintet, featuring trumpeter Dave Douglas. During the summer of 2013, she toured with Garrison Keillor and his A Prairie Home Companion Radio Romance Tour.[4][5] She also performed at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark 2014. In summer 2017, she joined Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home "Love and Comedy" Tour.

She has performed, recorded and collaborated with a large variety of acclaimed musicians including Ollabelle, Karan Casey and Seamus Egan, Jerry Douglas, Jim Lauderdale, Darol Anger, Sarah Jarosz, Sara Watkins, Christina Courtin, Chris Thile (Nickel Creek, Punch Brothers), Noam Pikelny (Punch Brothers), Edgar Meyer, Stuart Duncan, Greensky Bluegrass, Kronos Quartet and Yo-Yo Ma. Her songwriting has also led her to be featured in films and television and came to the attention of Alison Krauss, who recorded Aoife's song "Lay My Burden Down" on her album Paper Airplane (2011 Rounder Records)[1][6] and is used in the film Get Low (2010 Sony Pictures). She has had songs placed on True Blood (HBO)[7] and Private Practice (ABC).

Life and career[edit]

Aoife O'Donovan playing guitar at a concert in 2009

O'Donovan grew up in Newton, Massachusetts. She spent her summers in Ireland[8] singing songs with her extended family. She became interested in American folk music through artists such as Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. Aoife went on to study contemporary improvisation at the New England Conservatory of Music,[9] where she graduated in 2003. In 2016, she wed Eric Jacobsen; subsequently they had a daughter Ivy Jo, born in 2017.

Crooked Still (2001–2011)[edit]

O'Donovan and bassist Corey DiMario met at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, in the spring of 2001. Cellist Rushad Eggleston, who was studying at Berklee College of Music, and banjo player Gregory Liszt, a graduate student at MIT, were playing music together around the same time, and when the four met that summer, they formed the band Crooked Still.[1] The group grew in popularity by playing Boston area venues. The group was invited to perform at the Newport Folk Festival and Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, the same year they released their debut album, Hop High. Crooked Still has toured in 23 states and several countries. In August 2006, the group released their second album, Shaken by a Low Sound. In November 2007, Rushad Eggleston parted ways with the band to pursue his own music. In January 2008 two new members joined the band: cellist Tristan Clarridge and fiddler Brittany Haas. The band released its first album with the new lineup Still Crooked in 2008, a live album in 2009, a studio full-length Some Strange Country in 2010 and an EP Friends of Fall in October 2011.[10]

Sometymes Why (2005–2009)[edit]

Contemporary/neo-traditional folk noir trio Sometymes Why was formed in 2005 by O'Donovan, Kristin Andreassen and Ruth Ungar Merenda. They came together from other bands, including Uncle Earl the Jolly Bankers (Andreassen), Crooked Still, the Wild Band of Snee, the Wayfaring Strangers (O'Donovan), The Mammals and Jay Ungar & Molly Mason's Family Band (Merenda). Sometymes Why released their debut cd in 2005 titled Sometimes Why, followed by Your Heart Is A Glorious Machine in 2009.[1]

I'm With Her (2014–Present)[edit]

In 2015, Aoife toured extensively with Sara Watkins (a founding member of Nickel Creek) and Sarah Jarosz under the combined tour banner of "I'm With Her".[11] This combo came about after an impromptu performance at the 2014 Telluride Bluegrass Festival.[12]

The group covered John Hiatt's "Crossing Muddy Waters" in 2015, and released the single "Little Lies" in 2017, touring the US later that year.[13] They recorded their debut album See You Around at Real World Studios in Bath, Somerset, England, three weeks after they had written it. The album was co-produced by Ethan Johns and released on February 16, 2018. American singer-songwriter Gillian Welch wrote the album's last track "Hundred Miles"; the trio is credited with writing all other songs on the album. The group toured in the U.S. and in Europe in the first half of 2018.

[14] At the 62nd Grammy Awards on January 26, 2020, I'm With Her won the award for Best American Roots Song for their recording of "Call My Name".[15] The song was co-written by Jarosz, Watkins, and O'Donovan.

Solo Career (2010–Present)[edit]

In June 2010, O'Donovan released her first solo recording, Blue Light, in the form of a limited edition 7" vinyl.

O'Donovan is the guest vocalist on the 2013 Grammy winning The Goat Rodeo Sessions (2011 Sony Masterworks), an album recorded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, bassist Edgar Meyer, mandolinist Chris Thile and fiddler Stuart Duncan. The album includes two vocal tracks featuring O'Donovan and Chris Thile. O'Donovan co-wrote one of those tracks, "Here And Heaven", with Meyer, Thile and Duncan.[16]

In November 2012, Aoife signed a deal with Yep Roc Records. A single, "Red & White & Blue & Gold" was released April 2, 2013, and her full-length debut album, "Fossils", produced by Tucker Martine, was released on June 11, 2013.[2]

Aoife has toured with the Punch Brothers, Transatlantic Sessions, the Milk Carton Kids, Elephant Revival, The Goat Rodeo Sessions and The Lone Bellow, makes frequent appearances on Chris Thile's Live From Here as well as headlining performances both in the US and abroad.

In 2016, Aoife released her sophomore solo studio album on Yep Roc Records, titled In The Magic Hour. On September 9, she also released the live album Man In A Neon Coat: Live From Cambridge, also on Yep Roc Records.

In 2018, Aoife wrote and recorded an original song titled "Are You There" for Elizabeth Chomko's short-film What They Had starring Hilary Swank.

In 2020, Aoife and her band I'm with Her won a Grammy Award for Best American Roots Song for their song "Call My Name".

In 2020, Aoife released her string quartet EP, Bullfrog's Croon (and Other Songs). As a solo artist she was inter alia part of the Newport Folk Festival in July 2021.[17]

In 2022, O'Donovan released Age of Apathy, a solo record produced by Joe Henry with guest performances by Allison Russell and Madison Cunningham. In November 2022, it received a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album.

In 2024, O'Donovan released "All My Friends," a solo album originally commissioned for the anniversary of the 19th amendment. "All My Friends" features collaboration with the Westerlies, the Knights,Anais Mitchell, and the San Francisco Girls' Chorus.

O'Donovan lives in Brooklyn, New York.[11]

Discography[edit]

Solo recordings[edit]

Year Album Record Label
2010 Blue Light (EP) Media Blitz Record Co.
2012 Peachstone (EP) Self Released
2013 (June 11) Fossils Yep Roc Records
2016 (January 22) In the Magic Hour Yep Roc Records
2016 (September 9) Man in a Neon Coat: Live from Cambridge (Live Album) Yep Roc Records
2019 (November 1) In the Magic Hour: Solo Sessions (EP) Yep Roc Records
2020 (March 6) Bull Frog's Croon (and Other Songs) (EP) Yep Roc Records
2021 Aoife plays Nebraska Yep Roc Records
2022 Age of Apathy Yep Roc Records
2024 (March 22) All My Friends Yep Roc Records

With Sometymes Why[edit]

Year Album Record Label
2005 Sometimes Why Self Released
2007 Sometimes Why (Silver Edition) Self Released
2009 Your Heart Is a Glorious Machine Signature Sounds

With Crooked Still[edit]

Year Album Record Label
2004 Hop High Footprint Records
2006 Shaken by a Low Sound Signature Sounds
2008 Still Crooked Signature Sounds
2009 Crooked Still Live Signature Sounds
2010 Some Strange Country Signature Sounds
2011 Friends of Fall (EP) Signature Sounds
2018 Live at Grey Fox July 16, 2006 Signature Sounds

With I'm With Her[edit]

Year Album Record Label
2015 Crossing Muddy Waters (EP) Sugar Hill
2018 See You Around New Rounder
2019 "Call My Name" (Single) Rounder

Videos[edit]

Year Title Producer
2010 "Half of What We Know" (with Crooked Still) Grey Sky Films
2013 "Red & White & Blue & Gold" Yep Roc Records
2013 "Beekeeper" Yep Roc Records

As guest artist[edit]

Year Artist Title Record Label
2003 The Wayfaring Strangers This Train Rounder
2004 The Wild Band of Snee Mystical 4-Track Recordings of Snee The Wild Band of Snee
2004 The Wild Band of Snee Rushad Eggleston and His Wild Band of Snee The Wild Band of Snee
2005 Richie Barshay Homework Barshay Music
2005 The Wild Band of Snee Music of Snee The Wild Band of Snee
2006 The Wild Band of Snee Playhouse of the Universe The Wild Band of Snee
2010 The American Beauty Project Page Auditorium, Duke University, Durham, NC 10/15/10 festivalink.net
2011 Noam Pikelny Beat the Devil and Carry a Rail Compass
2011 Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile The Goat Rodeo Sessions Sony Classical
2011 Alex Battles Goodbye Almira Alex Battles's Records
2012 Dave Douglas Be Still Greenleaf
2012 Mike + Ruthy The NYC EP Humble Abode
2012 Kate Rusby 20 Pure
2012 Annalivia The Same Way Down Annalivia
2013 Alastair Moock Singing Our Way Through: Songs for the World's Bravest Kids Moockshake Music
2013 Transatlantic Sessions Transatlantic Sessions 6 - Volume Two Whirlie
2015 John Morris Russell American Originals Fanfare Cincinnati
2016 Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands The Hazel and Alice Sessions Spruce and Maple
2016 Infamous Stringdusters Ladies & Gentlemen Compass
2016 Jesse Harper One True Thing Jesse Harper
2017 Chris Thile Thanks for Listening Nonesuch
2018 Caitlin Canty Motel Bouquet
2020 Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile Not Our First Goat Rodeo Sony Classical
2020 Kronos Quartet Long Time Passing Smithsonian Folkways
2021 The Paper Kites "Climb on Your Tears" (Roses) Wonderlick/ Sony

Awards and nominations[edit]

Grammy Awards
Year Nominee / Work Award Result
2019 "Call My Name" (I'm With Her) Best American Roots Song[18] Won
2019 "Call My Name" (I'm With Her) Best American Roots Performance[19] Nominated
2023 "Prodigal Daughter" Best American Roots Performance[20] Nominated
2023 "Prodigal Daughter" Best American Roots Song[21] Nominated
2023 Age of Apathy Best Folk Album[22] Nominated
Folk Alliance International
Year Nominee / Work Award Result
2022 Aoife O'Donovan Artist of The Year[23] Nominated
2022 "B61" Song of The Year[23] Won
The American Association of Independent Music
Year Nominee / Work Award Result
2023 Age of Apathy Folk Album of the Year[24] Nominated

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Kim Ruehl. "Aoife O'Donovan (of Crooked Still)". Aoife O'Donovan - Biography and Profile. About.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Linda Fahey (June 8, 2013). "Aoife O'Donovan: The Voice Of Crooked Still Breaks Loose". NPR Music. National Public Radio. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  3. ^ Alarik, Scott (2003-11-14). "/ News / Boston Globe / Living / Arts / Wayfaring Strangers find common ground". Boston.com. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  4. ^ Hays Davis (July 18, 2013). "Garrison Keillor's 'A prairie home companion': Spirit of the Radio". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia: World Media Enterprises. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  5. ^ R. Scott Reedy (July 25, 2013). "Garrison Keillor brings 'Prairie' to Cohasset". The Patriot Ledger. Quincy, Massachusetts: GateHouse Media. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  6. ^ Doyle, Patrick (2011-02-10). "Alison Krauss Reflects on Making First Album With Union Station Since 2004". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  7. ^ "True Blood: S 3 EP 25 Bad Blood: Music". HBO. 2011-11-12. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  8. ^ Carr, Eamon (July 20, 2013). "Welcome to Aoife's roots county chillout". The Evening Herald (Herald.ie). Dublin, Ireland: Independent House. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
  9. ^ Shea Gibbs (October 10, 2013). "The many sides of Aoife O'Donovan's talent". C-Ville Weekly. Charlottesville, VA. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  10. ^ "Crooked Still Discography". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  11. ^ a b Jonathan Bernstein (March 16, 2016). "The Glad Tears of Aoife O'Donovan". American Songwriter magazine. ForASong Media, LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  12. ^ Alex Gallacher (April 26, 2015). "I'm with Her Tour: Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O'Donovan". Music News. Folk Radio UK. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  13. ^ Gold, Adam (July 19, 2017). "Watch Folk Supergroup I'm With Her Perform New Song 'Little Lies'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  14. ^ Bernstein, Scott (June 4, 2018). "I'm With Her Announces 2018 Fall Tour". JamBase. Archived from the original on May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  15. ^ "2020 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Winners & Nominations List". GRAMMY Awards. Nov 20, 2019. Archived from the original on Feb 8, 2022.
  16. ^ "Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile Transcend Musical Boundaries and Create Organized Chaos in a Beautiful "Goat Rodeo"". PRNewswire. Sony Masterworks. 13 Sep 2011. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  17. ^ "Folk On Schedules". Newport Folk. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  18. ^ "62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards". GRAMMY Awards. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  19. ^ "Aoife ODonovan". GRAMMY Awards. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  20. ^ "2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List". GRAMMY Awards. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  21. ^ "2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List". GRAMMY Awards. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  22. ^ "2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List". GRAMMY Awards. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  23. ^ a b "Announcing the nominees + recipients for the 2023 International Folk Music Awards". 9 January 2023.
  24. ^ https://www.liberaawards.com/news/libera-award-nominees-2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links[edit]

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