Atwater & Donnelly

While traditional musicians often specialize in one genre, Atwater & Donnelly have cut a wide swath in their efforts to preserve older styles and songs. A mainstay in New England, the couple performs sea shanties, Shaker hymns, English and Appalachian folk songs, and Celtic music. "Their harmonies, punctuated by Aubrey Atwater's powerful soprano and Elwood Donnelly's solid tenor," wrote Stephen Ide in Music Hound Folk, "are delicious and meticulously crafted...." The array of musical instruments the team utilizes -- dulcimer, banjo, spoons, harmonica, and bones -- further adds to the eclectic nature of the music. Atwater (b. September 22, 1963) and Donnelly (b. January 30, 1950) met while working as volunteers at the Stone Soup Coffee House in Providence in 1987. In a short time, the couple formed Atwater & Donnelly, and in 1989, they married. Atwater began her love affair with music when she "tapped out" "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush" at the age of five. Seven years of classical piano lessons followed until, toward the end of her high-school years, she began playing popular folk songs on an acoustic guitar. Atwater attended Brown University, where she studied French, psychology, and history while also performing at rallies and local coffeehouses. Donnelly's journey toward traditional music likewise took a circuitous path. He started his music career at 15, joining a rock band called the Lovely Things (1965-1967) and later, in the mid-'80s, joining the Kesar Band to play traditional Cambodian music. In 1988 Atwater & Donnelly issued their first album, Love & Labor, an effort that included Irish, English, and Scottish material. The album also featured a recording of the first song the couple had sung in public, Tyger Hutchings' "A Calling-On Song." Atwater &...