Aubrey Atwater (Special Event)

Aubrey Atwater is one of the pillars of the folk scene in Rhode Island, a large talent tucked away in a small state. She is a researcher, collector, and performer of traditional and original folk music, especially American and Irish repertoire. Her lovely voice is complemented by her expert guitar, Appalachian mountain dulcimer, Irish tin whistle, and old-time banjo. Aubrey entwines a moving explanation of the music with stories from her life and musical journey. Her 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 started playing music at the age of five when she tapped out "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush" on the piano. Her only formal musical training was the seven years of classical piano lessons that followed. Near the end of high school, she started to play the guitar and sing popular folk songs of the '60s and '70s. At Brown University, she studied psychology, history, and French, and played often in coffeehouses and campus rallies. After Aubrey met her husband. performer Elwood Donnelly, at the Stone Soup Coffeehouse in Providence, and they formed a duo, Atwater-Donnelly, in the fall of 1987. (Elwood stays home while Aubrey plays solo tonight.)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. Other travels have taken Aubrey to Prince Edward Island, England, and the Midwest to collect and perform folk music. During trips to places including 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.