Aoife O'Donovan

Aoife (pronounced EEF-ah) grew up in a musical family, immersed in folk music. She went on to study contemporary improvisation at the New England Conservatory of Music in her hometown of Boston. Since her first professional engagement singing lead for the folk group The Wayfaring Strangers, she has maintained a wide variety of side projects and collaborations. Most recently, she has performed and recorded with Ollabelle, Sometymes Why, Karan Casey and Seamus Egan, Jerry Douglas, Jim Lauderdale, Darol Anger, Sarah Jarosz, Sara Watkins, Christina Courtin, Noam Pikelny and Chris Thile (The Punch Brothers). For the past 10 years, Aoife has been fronting the alt-bluegrass/string band Crooked Still, which she formed when she was 18. Despite her young age, Aoife has toured in ten different countries, performed with the Boston Pops and the Utah Symphony Orchestra and has appeared on countless radio and television programs. Her natural talent for songwriting recently came to the attention of Alison Krauss, who recorded Aoife's song Lay My Burden Down, which is included on Alison's album Paper Airplane (2011 Rounder Records) and can also be heard in the film Get Low (2010 Sony Pictures). Aoife's crystalline voice has also been heard on True Blood (HBO) and Private Practice (ABC). In June 2010, Aoife released her first solo recording in the form of a limited edition 7" vinyl. Featuring two original tracks, it garnered rave reviews from audiophiles worldwide. Aoife has just finished a project with Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer and Stuart Duncan titled The Goat Rodeo Sessions released in October 2011 (Sony Masterworks). Aoife is currently performing shows with her band, Robin MacMillan on drums, Jacob Silver on bass and Ryan Scott on guitar, with plans to record a full length album in 2012. Originally from Newton, Massachusettes, Aoife makes her home in the musical hotbed of Brooklyn, NY.