Aoife O'Donovan (she's the one in the middle) grew up in the Boston suburb of Newton, but her voice evokes the wide-open spaces of rural America. While her band, Crooked Still, is a virtuoso string combo as good as any in the Newgrass movement, Aoife (pronounced EE-fuh) has crossover star potential: she projects an airy, unguarded intimacy that is equally gorgeous singing the old folk tunes her band specializes in, rock standards, and the original singer-songwriter material she performs in her side project, Sometymes Why.
Below are two tracks, a cover of Paul Simon's "Hearts and Bones" that she posted on her website, and a splendid Crooked Still live version of the Rolling Stones' "You Got the Silver" from the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge in South Burlington, Vermont, on May 20, 2010.
Hearts and Bones - Aoife O'Donovan
You Got the Silver - Crooked Still
After you've heard these two, search You Tube for Sometymes Why's hilariously steamy "Too Repressed," and treat yourself to a copy of the uncensored "Black Album" that features the original studio version of the song, not to mention Crooked Still's latest, Some Strange Country.
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