Aoife O'Donovan ( , ; born November 18, 1982) is an American singer and Grammy award-winning songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer for the string band

Crooked Still Crooked Still is an American band consisting of vocalist Aoife O'Donovan, banjo player Gregory Liszt, bassist Corey DiMario, cellist Tristan Clarridge and fiddler Brittany Haas. They are known for their high energy, technical skill, unusual i ...

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 The Grammy Award for Best Folk Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the folk genre. Honors in several c ...

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 ''Live from Here'', formerly known as ''A Prairie Home Companion with Chris Thile'', is an American variety radio show known for its musical guests, tongue-in-cheek radio drama, and relaxed humor. Hosted by Chris Thile, it aired live on Saturda ...

'' and ''

A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' is a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...

''. Her first professional engagement was singing lead for the folk group The Wayfaring Strangers. O'Donovan has performed with the

Boston Pops Orchestra The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symp ...

, the

Kansas City Symphony The Kansas City Symphony (KCS) is a United States symphony orchestra based in Kansas City, Missouri. The current music director is conductor Michael Stern. The Symphony performs at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, located at 1601 Br ...

, the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...

, the

Louisville Orchestra The Louisville Orchestra is the primary orchestra in Louisville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1937 by Robert Whitney (1904–1986) and Charles Farnsley, Mayor of Louisville. The Louisville Orchestra employs salaried musicians, and offers a wide ...

, and the

Utah Symphony Orchestra The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving c ...

. 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 Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...

and his ''

'' Radio Romance Tour. She also performed at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark 2014. In summer 2017, she joined

's Prairie Home "Love and Comedy" Tour. She has performed, recorded and collaborated with a large variety of acclaimed musicians including

Ollabelle Ollabelle is a New York-based folk music group named after the influential Appalachian songwriter Ola Belle Reed. The group is composed of five singing multi-instrumentalists hailing from disparate parts of the United States, Canada and Austral ...

Karan Casey Karan Casey (born 1969) is an Irish folk singer, and a former member of the Irish band Solas. She resides in Cork, Ireland. Early years Casey was born in Ballyduff Lower, Kilmeaden, County Waterford, Ireland. Her family encouraged her to sin ...

and

Seamus Egan Seamus may refer to: * Séamus, a male first name of Gaelic origin Film and television * Seamus (''Family Guy''), a character on the television series ''Family Guy'' * Seamus, a pigeon in '' Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore'' * Seamus Mc ...

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. Career In addition to his fourteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums. As a sideman, he has ...

Jim Lauderdale James Russell Lauderdale (born April 11, 1957) is an American country, bluegrass, and Americana singer-songwriter. Since 1986, he has released 31 studio albums, including collaborations with artists such as Dr. Ralph Stanley, Buddy Miller, and ...

Darol Anger Darol Anger is an American violinist and founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. Career Darol Anger entered popular music at the age of 21 as a founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. Anger played fiddle to David Grisman's mando ...

Sarah Jarosz Sarah Jarosz ( ; born May 23, 1991) is an American singer-songwriter from Wimberley, Texas. Her first album, ''Song Up in Her Head'', was released in 2009

Sara Watkins Sara Ullrika Watkins (born June 8, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and fiddler. Watkins debuted in 1989 as the fiddler of Nickel Creek, the progressive bluegrass group she formed with her brother Sean and mandolinist Chris Thile. In addi ...

Christina Courtin Christina Courtin (born 1984) is an American singer, violinist, and songwriter. A performer from an early age and a graduate of the Juilliard School, Christina Courtin released her first, self-titled, album in June 2009 on Nonesuch Records, of ...

Chris Thile Christopher Scott Thile (; born February 20, 1981) is an American mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality, best known for his work in the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek and the acoustic folk and progressive blue ...

(

Nickel Creek Nickel Creek (formerly known as the Nickel Creek Band) is an American bluegrass band consisting of Chris Thile (mandolin), and siblings Sara Watkins (fiddle) and Sean Watkins (guitar). Formed in 1989 in Southern California, they released six alb ...

Punch Brothers Punch Brothers is an American band consisting of Chris Thile (mandolin), Gabe Witcher (fiddle/violin), Noam Pikelny (banjo), Chris Eldridge (guitar), and Paul Kowert (bass). Their style has been described as "bluegrass instrumentation and spontane ...

Noam Pikelny Noam Pikelny (born February 27, 1981, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American banjoist. He is a member of the group Punch Brothers and was previously in Leftover Salmon as well as the John Cowan Band. Pikelny is a nine-time Grammy Award nominee, win ...

(

Edgar Meyer Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. He has won five Grammy Awards and been nominated seven times. Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegrass ...

Stuart Duncan Stuart Duncan (born April 14, 1964) is an American bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo. Life Duncan was born in Quantico, Virginia, and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school band. He ...

Greensky Bluegrass Greensky Bluegrass is a five-piece American bluegrass jam band founded in Kalamazoo, Michigan in mid-2000. The band has evolved over the years, growing from 3 to 5 members, adding electric effects, and touring with a full light show. Partly becau ...

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...

and

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

. Her songwriting has also led her to be featured in films and television and came to the attention of

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

, who recorded Aoife's song "Lay My Burden Down" on her album ''

Paper Airplane A paper plane (also known as a paper airplane in American English or paper aeroplane in British English) is a toy aircraft, usually a glider made out of single folded sheet of paper or paperboard. A simple nose-heavy paper plane, thrown like ...

'' (2011 Rounder Records) and is used in the film '' Get Low'' (2010 Sony Pictures). She has had songs placed on ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development. The serie ...

'' (HBO) and ''

Private Practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...

'' (ABC).

Life and career

O'Donovan grew up in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...

. She spent her summers in Ireland singing songs with her extended family. She became interested in

American folk music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ''roots music''. Many traditional songs have been sung ...

through artists such as Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. Aoife went on to study contemporary improvisation at the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...

of Music, where she graduated in 2003. In 2016, she wed Eric Jacobsen; subsequently they had a daughter Ivy Jo, born in 2017.

Crooked Still

O'Donovan and Corey DiMario met at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, in the spring of 2001. Former cellist

Rushad Eggleston Rushad Robert Eggleston (born September 30, 1979) is an American cellist, composer, jazz vocalist, & performer. Eggleston's music can be eccentric, with many references to fantasy and goblins. Eggleston is known for inventing words, and for hi ...

, who was studying at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

, and Gregory Liszt, a graduate student at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

, were playing music together around the same time, and when the four met that summer, they formed the band

. The group grew in popularity by playing Boston area venues. The group was invited to perform at the

Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...

and

Falcon Ridge Folk Festival The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival and dance festival held at Dodds Farm in Hillsdale, New York. History The first festival was a two-day event in 1988, held at a ski slope. In 1991, the festival mo ...

, 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, cellist 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 Brittany Haas (born 1987) is an American fiddle player, who also sings and plays the banjo. She is a member of the Boston-based alternative bluegrass band Crooked Still, which is currently on hiatus. She is a regular performer on Live From Here. ...

. 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.

Sometymes Why

Contemporary/ neo-traditional folk noir trio Sometymes Why was formed in 2005 by O'Donovan,

Kristin Andreassen Kristin Andreassen is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, old time musician and educator. Currently based in Nashville, Tennessee, she started her music career as a professional clogger with Footworks Percussive Dance E ...

and Ruth Ungar Merenda. They came together from other bands, including

Uncle Earl Uncle Earl is an American old-time music group, formed in 2000 by KC Groves and Jo Serrapere. Currently the lineup consists of four women, all of whom share vocal duties: KC Groves, Kristin Andreassen, Abigail Washburn, and Rayna Gellert. They h ...

the Jolly Bankers (Andreassen), Crooked Still, the Wild Band of Snee, the Wayfaring Strangers (O'Donovan),

The Mammals The Mammals are a contemporary folk rock band based in the Hudson Valley area of New York, in the United States. The band tours internationally and consists of founding members and principal songwriters Mike Merenda (guitar, banjo) and Ruth Un ...

and

Jay Ungar Jay Ungar (born November 14, 1946) is an American folk musician and composer. Life and career Ungar was born in the Bronx, New York City. He frequented Greenwich Village music venues during his formative period in the 1960s. In the late 1960s, ...

& 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.

Since 2010

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 ''The Goat Rodeo Sessions'' is a 2011 collaborative album by Stuart Duncan, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile, featuring Aoife O'Donovan. The album won the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album and the Grammy for Best Engineered Album, Non- ...

'' (2011 Sony Masterworks), an album recorded by cellist

, bassist

, mandolinist

and fiddler

. 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. 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 Tucker Martine (born January 14, 1972) is an American record producer, musician and composer. In 2010, ''Paste'' Magazine included Martine in their list of the 10 Best Producers of the Decade. Early life Tucker Martine, the son of singer and son ...

, was released on June 11, 2013. Aoife has toured with the

Transatlantic Sessions Transatlantic Sessions is the collective title for a series of musical productions by Glasgow-based Pelicula Films Ltd, funded by- and produced for BBC Scotland, BBC Four and RTÉ of Ireland. The productions comprise collaborative live performan ...

, the

Milk Carton Kids The Milk Carton Kids are an American indie folk duo from Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, Eagle Rock, California, United States, consisting of singers and guitarists Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan, who began making music together in early 2011. The ba ...

Elephant Revival Elephant Revival is a folk music group from Nederland, Colorado, formed in 2006. The band consists of Bonnie Paine, Bridget Law, Charlie Rose, Dango Rose, Daniel Rodriguez, and Darren Garvey. They refer to their style of music as "transcendental ...

and

The Lone Bellow The Lone Bellow is an American musical group from Brooklyn, New York City. History The Lone Bellow began as a songwriting project for Zach Williams, whose wife had suffered temporary paralysis following a horseback riding accident. During h ...

, makes frequent appearances on Chris Thile's ''

Live From Here ''Live from Here'', formerly known as ''A Prairie Home Companion with Chris Thile'', is an American variety radio show known for its musical guests, tongue-in-cheek radio drama, and relaxed humor. Hosted by Chris Thile, it aired live on Saturda ...

'' as well as headlining performances both in the US and abroad. In 2015, Aoife toured extensively with

(a founding member of

) and

Sarah Jarosz Sarah Jarosz ( ; born May 23, 1991) is an American singer-songwriter from Wimberley, Texas. Her first album, ''Song Up in Her Head'', was released in 2009

under the combined tour banner of " I'm With Her". This combo came about after an impromptu performance at the 2014 Telluride Bluegrass Festival. The trio released their debut album ''See You Around'' on Rounder Records in 2018. 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 Elizabeth Chomko (born 1981) is an American playwright, film director, screenwriter and actress best known for the film ''What They Had.'' Early life Chomko grew up in Chicago, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Her family moved to Belgium when she ...

's short-film ''

What They Had ''What They Had'' is a 2018 American drama film written and directed by Elizabeth Chomko (in her feature directorial debut) and starring Hilary Swank, Michael Shannon, Robert Forster, Blythe Danner, Taissa Farmiga, and Josh Lucas. The film had ...

'' starring

Hilary Swank Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974) is an American actress and film producer. She first became known in 1992 for her role on the television series '' Camp Wilder'' and made her film debut with a minor role in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1992 ...

. In 2019, Aoife and her band I'm with Her won a

Grammy Award for Best American Roots Song The Grammy Award for Best American Roots Song is an award category at the annual Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the American Roots Music ...

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

in July 2021. In 2022, O'Donovan released ''Age of Apathy'', a solo record produced by

Joe Henry Joseph Lee Henry (born December 2, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. He has released 15 studio albums and produced multiple recordings for other artists, including three Grammy Award-winning albums. Early life H ...

with guest performances by

Allison Russell Allison Russell is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician and activist. Prior to her solo music career, Russell performed as a member of various music groups including Po' Girl, Birds of Chicago, Our Native Daughters and Sisters of the Strawbe ...

and

Madison Cunningham Madison Cunningham (born October 14, 1996) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. ''Rolling Stone'' described her music as "a new spin on West Coast folk-rock, with classical tendencies, electric guitars, jazz-school chord changes and a ...

Life and career

Crooked Still

Sometymes Why

Since 2010

Discography

Solo recordings

With Sometymes Why

With Crooked Still

With I'm With Her

Videos

As guest artist

Awards and Nominations

References

External links