Aoife Maria O'Donovan ( , ; born November 18, 1982) is an American singer and

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-winning songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer for the string band Crooked Still, as well as one-third of the supergroup folk trio I'm with Her alongside Sarah Jarosz and Sara Watkins. As a solo artist, O'Donovan has released four critically acclaimed studio albums: ''Fossils'' (2013), ''In the Magic Hour'' (2016), ''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 music, folk genre. Honors ...

Grammy Award), and ''All My Friends'' (2024, nominated for the

and Best American Roots Song Grammy Awards). She has also released 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. 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. 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 Seamus Egan is an Irish-American musician. Early days Seamus Egan was born in Hatboro, Pennsylvania to Irish immigrants Mike and Ann Egan. At the age of three his parents moved the family back home to County Mayo, Ireland. He learned accordi ...

, Jerry Douglas, Jim Lauderdale, Darol Anger, Sarah Jarosz, Sara Watkins, Christina Courtin,

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 ...

, Noam Pikelny, Edgar Meyer,

Stuart Duncan Stuart Ian 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 ...

, Greensky Bluegrass, Kronos Quartet and

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American Cello, cellist. Born to Chinese people, Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, ...

. 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, fiddler and music producer. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at ...

, who recorded O'Donovan's song "Lay My Burden Down" on her album '' Paper Airplane'' (2011 Rounder Records) and is used in the film '' Get Low'' (2010 Sony Pictures). She has had solo songs placed on '' True Blood'' (HBO) and '' Private Practice'' (ABC), as well as Crooked Still songs featured in '' The Last of Us''.

Life and career

Early and personal life

O'Donovan grew up in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located roughly west of Downtown Boston, and comprises a patchwork of thirteen villages. The city borders Boston to the northeast and southeast (via the neighborhoods of ...

. She spent her summers in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, 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 Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

. Aoife went on to study contemporary improvisation at the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

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 (2001–2011)

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 Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

, 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. 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 Brittany Caroline 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 was a regular performer on Live ...

. 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 (2005–2009)

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.

I'm With Her (2014–Present)

In 2015, Aoife toured extensively with Sara Watkins (a founding member of

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

) and Sarah Jarosz 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 group covered John Hiatt's " Crossing Muddy Waters" in 2015, and released the single "Little Lies" in 2017, touring the US later that year. They recorded their debut album '' See You Around'' at Real World Studios in

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

, 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. At the 62nd

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

on January 26, 2020, I'm With Her won the award for Best American Roots Song for their recording of "Call My Name". The song was co-written by Jarosz, Watkins, and O'Donovan. In 2021, she was a soloist with the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series.

Solo Career (2010–Present)

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

, bassist Edgar Meyer, 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 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. 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

. 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, Anaïs Mitchell, and the San Francisco Girls' Chorus.

Life and career

Early and personal life

Crooked Still (2001–2011)

Sometymes Why (2005–2009)

I'm With Her (2014–Present)

Solo Career (2010–Present)

Discography

Solo recordings

With Sometymes Why

With Crooked Still

With I'm With Her

Videos

As guest artist

Awards and nominations

References

External links