A spectral, beyond-the-pale night of liminal contemporary-traditional music from trio Faoileán & ensemble SPRY.

About SPRY: Spry fuses jazz, folk and bluegrass in the singer songwriter idiom, creating dynamic arrangements around singer-songwriter Eleanor Elektra’s unique, cinematic songs. This amorphous project of writers and improvisers performs variously as a solo, duo, trio and sometimes five person ensemble. Award winning double bassist Max Ridley, hardanger fiddler Zosha Warpeha, pianist Jacob Hiser and drummer Tim Wolf together make up a dynamic ensemble that skillfully straddles the line between composition and improvisation. 

About Faoileán: Faoileán [FWEEL-AWN] is an Irish word that translates to “seagull”, but can also refer to “one who circles or spins; wild one”. The latter definition describes this Philadelphia-based musical trio’s sonic style, highlighted on their debut full-length album: Far Hills.  Their playing incorporates traditional Irish instrumentation and tunes with influences from experimental music and energy from American folk music. Nathan Bishop fiddles for the trio, Connor Brogan plays octave mandolin, tenor banjo, and harmonium, and Rob Helsel plays resonator guitar, five-string banjo, and Spanish guitar. Connor and Rob share the role of vocalist, trading lead and harmony.