Event

Matt and Shannon Heaton

Matt & Shannon Heaton's original Celtic music is built on strong traditional bones, fleshed out with a deep engagement with the modern world around them. They learned their chops in Irish music sessions in Chicago and on regular trips to Ireland, where they studied with some of County Clare's finest. But once you scratch the traditional pedigree you find a unique vibe. Shannon contributes a keen love of language and folk melody accrued through a childhood spent on Navajo Reservations and in Nigeria and Thailand. Matt is a life long music student who has played classical guitar in Italy, rock in Chicago, and tango in Denver.
Openers Hannah Sanders (from Old England) and Liz Simmons (from New England), two traditional singers, offer ballads from England and Appalachia as well as their own self-penned songs. Like all good folk musicians, their music draws from elements of jazz and old time music, while still maintaining the authenticity of traditional balladry.