TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. — Stylistically wide-ranging, Aoife O’Donovan lives in many musical spaces. With progressive Americana at the core of her artistry, O’Donovan is a Grammy-winning vocalist, guitarist, and pianist chiefly known as founder of string band Crooked Still. She’s also one-third of two different female trios—Sometymes Why and I’m with Her—the latter with Sarah Jarosz and Sara Watkins. O’Donovan will perform with her quartet for Grand Teton Music Festival’s Gateway Series this Thursday at Walk Festival Hall.
O’Donovan’s latest work is her third solo LP, Age of Apathy, a pandemic-era project that placed her collaborating with session players from afar—a new avenue for her. It’s O’Donovan’s first record since 2016’s In the Magic Hour. In the time since, O’Donovan moved from her native New England (Boston and New York, respectively) to Orlando, and also became a mother. She has Irish family heritage, spending summers there as a child.
“I don’t know if there’s specific techniques on this album that would draw from Ireland, but certainly from Irish music, then folk music, then old-time Appalachian music and bluegrass,” O’Donovan told Boston radio station WERS 88.9 FM in March.
As far as influences go, the females in her listening periphery have played a major role.
“Joni Mitchell, of course. Really, really love Shawn Colvin. I grew up listening to Shawn Colvin a ton and also a lot of Irish singers—Karan Casey, Cathy Jordan, Cara Dillon, those people. And then kind of going back to sort of jazz singers—Billie Holiday and Nina Simone and people whose phrasing I just absolutely admire. And in addition, my contemporaries, you know, my bandmates Sara Watkins and Sarah Jarosz. I got to do a little mini press tour with Sara Bareilles back in 2018, or 2019, I guess. And that was—she’s a total badass. Anaïs Mitchell. So many, so many incredible women that I look up to.”
Grand Teton Music Festival Presents Aoife O’Donovan & Friends, 8-10 p.m. Thursday at Walk Festival Hall. Tickets are $50/adults, $5 students. GTMF.org.
