Aubrey Atwater (Special Event)

AUBREY ATWATER is one of the mainstays of the Rhode Island folk community. Aubrey has been performing contemporary American folk songs and traditional ballads, as well as original songs of social commentary, since 1981. While she often performs with her husband Elwood Donnelly, whom she met when they were both volunteers at the Stone Soup Coffeehouse in Pawtucket, R.I. back in 1987, Aubrey nurtures a solo career that includes performing, writing songs and poetry, and teaching.AUBREY ATWATER presents a captivating program of original and traditional folk music performed on the guitar, Appalachian mountain dulcimer, Irish tin whistle, and old-time banjo. She entwines a moving explanation of the music with stories from her life and musical journey. Aubrey's love of music extends beyond the sound alone. Her pursuit is to understand folk music as an expression of human history and a glimpse into the lives of 'ordinary' people. AUBREY HAS TRAVELED to Ireland six times since 1984 to research Irish culture, history, and music, as well as to perform. During her last trip she attended a folk song seminar in County Donegal. She has also traveled numerous times to Eastern Kentucky, Arkansas, and North Carolina to research and perform Appalachian and Ozark folk music. During trips to the Hindman Settlement School, the Ozark Folk Center, The Swannanoa Gathering, and the John C. Campbell Folk School, she has taught dulcimer and ballad classes, studied with the legendary Jean Ritchie and other folklorists, played in square dance bands, appeared on television, and received standing ovations for her concerts. Other travels have taken Aubrey to Prince Edward Island, England, and the Midwest to collect and perform folk music. In 1997 and 1998, Aubrey traveled to London to perform in schools and record a live children's CD entitled Daily Growing: Aubrey Atwater Live in the Classroom which was released in the Spring of 1999.[Aubrey's CD] Simple Sentences...contains 14 cuts each too refined to be favored over the others--more like the kind of 'best of' release artists produce after a series of albums... powerfully declarative...[Atwater has]...a discerning ear for storytelling, an instrumental mastery and a stylish soprano that render her original music spine-tingling to the ear.

--Phyllis Ring, Rockingham County News, NHAubrey is one of the most lovely, tasteful, and creatively exquisite singers I have seen yet.

 --Howie Mitchell, Lexington, VA, Folk Legacy Recording Artist