Long Time Courting
"Long Time Courting infuses traditional ballads, jigs, and reels with fresh life and energy and vocal harmonies that are nothing short of sublime... Their rendition of “Barbara Allen” is beautiful enough to break your heart." - Nashua Telegraph
Take four individually accomplished traditional musicians and singers with fresh attitudes. Combine them, and you have the rich, soaring four-part vocal arrangements, and fiery Irish jigs and reels, that are Long Time Courting.
Long Time Courting brings heavenly harmonies to old and new ballads--and serves up a zesty side of high energy dance tunes!
Bringing together the talents of Sarah Blair on fiddle/vocals, Liz Simmons on guitar/vocals, Shannon Heaton on flute/vocals, and Ariel Friedman on cello/vocals, this Boston-based band shares a love of traditional Irish and American music, as well as contemporary folk and pop. They bring elements of these various genres to their traditional repertoire with sensitivity, musicality, beauty—and a bit of mischief, too!
From their first appearance at Cambridge’s Club Passim in October 2008, they have begun to win over audiences throughout the Northeast.
Check out Long Time Courting on Maine's Channel 6 TV
HERE!
Meet Long Time Courting:
Sarah Blair
"Sarah Blair is simply a great fiddler. Her combination of grit and control makes for music with drive, lift, and a compelling earthiness." -Fiddler Magazine.
Sarah began playing Irish fiddle in Providence, Rhode Island's thriving traditional Irish music scene. She honed her playing as a sought-after session leader in Boston and in the world of American contra dancing. With her band The Sevens and with other ensembles, Sarah has played at festivals, concerts, and dance weeks from Alaska to Quebec to Florida. Her most unusual gig was filling in for fiddler Liz Carroll for a portion of The Eagles' singer Don Henley's 2000 tour. In 2001, the Sevens were featured on NPR in an interview with Noah Adams. She is included in "Handy with the Stick: Fiddler Magazine's Best of Irish fiddling," a forthcoming book profiling top Irish fiddlers by Brendan Taaffe.
Liz Simmons
"A honey-voiced singer. . .Simmons sings with winsome ease and genuine feeling." -Dirty Linen Magazine
Liz grew up in a musical family in Southern New Hampshire. As a child, she was exposed to a mixture of classical, rock, bluegrass, traditional, folk and pop music. Her passion for traditional folk singing developed in her late teens, after she spent a few years studying classical voice. Since then, she has developed a unique style that incorporates the sounds of Appalachian traditional singing and pop. Her performance credits include North Cregg, The Sevens, and The John Whelan Band. She is currently the lead singer of Annalivia, a band that infuses a contemporary edge with the traditional sounds of Ireland, Appalachia and Cape Breton.
Shannon Heaton
"Shannon's voice is the sun: remarkably light yet powerful, reminiscent of the 10,000 Maniacs' Mary Ramsey...Shannon's flawless flute playing adds another layer of lightness..." -Molly Snyder, OnMilwaukee.com
Shannon is a veteran performer, having toured nationally with her husband, guitarist Matt Heaton, for over ten years. She developed her love of folk and traditional music early on, having lived in music-rich Nigeria and Thailand. It was in Chicago, IL that she discovered the local Irish music community and began learning tunes at Comhaltas and pub sessions. Since then, her keen melodic and arranging sensibilities, discerning ear, and exquisite Irish flute style has been featured with numerous Boston area ensembles.
Ariel Friedman
"...adventurous and lyrical... a unique style and approach..." - Dirty Linen Magazine
Ariel is an inventive folk and classical cellist from Boston, and a winner of the American String Teachers Association's 2009 Alternative Styles Award. She recently received a Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University, where she studied with cellist Hans Jørgen Jensen. She works as a duo with her sister Mia, a fiddler. She also performs, tours, and records with Scottish National Fiddle champion Hanneke Cassel and New England's highly acclaimed fiddle band, Childsplay. She teaches at a music school and her private studio, and is in demand as an instructor at fiddle camps around the country.