The Snohomish County-based Gothard Sisters are celebrating the release of their new Celtic folk CD “Mountain Rose.”
The release party and concert is at 7:30 p.m. July 18 at the Tim Noah Thumbnail Theater, 1211 Fourth St., Snohomish.
Because that show is nearly sold out, another concert, at 4 p.m. July 19 at the Thumb, has been added. Tickets are $20 general or $15 for kids and seniors. For information, call 360-568-9412.
The internationally known Gothard Sisters play a lot of festivals and tour the country all year, so Greta, Willow and Solana are glad to be home for the launch of their new self-produced compilation, they said.
This is the band’s first appearance at the Thumbnail Theater, and “we’re very excited to host them,” said Sharon Cordisco of the theater.
The Gothards grew up in Edmonds, where they were home-schooled and studied classical violin with the late Lawrence Fisher. Their mother, Lark Gothard, is of Irish descent and got her daughters interested in Irish step dance and traditional Celtic musical instruments.
All in their 20s, the Gothard sisters sing, play violin and are championship dancers.
Greta also plays guitar, bass, cajon, percussion and keyboards, Willow has mastered the mandolin and Solana plays the bodhran, djembe, various other percussion instruments, autoharp, dulcimer and whistle. They count among their influences Mary Black, Enya, Natalie MacMaster, Edgar Meyer, Nickel Creek and Loreena McKennitt.
The Gothard Sisters won the coveted “best new Irish artists” title at the Irish Music Awards in 2014.
“Mountain Rose” highlights the band’s talents, with their youthful takes on traditional music and new songs written by the sisters.
The three-part vocal harmonies are spot on, especially on the Welsh lullaby “All Through the Night.”
The new album opens with an Al Stewart tune “Queen of Argyll,” which the sisters have arranged to match their strengths.
Especially beautiful are the instrumental offerings and soaring violin solos written by the sisters, including the drum and fiddle tune “The Bandit,” “Mountain Rose Waltz” and the jazzy “Cat in a Bush.”
A favorite is “Chaos in La Casa,” which has great percussion and a Latin feel, and the sisters also are happy with their new lyric piece “It Was Beautiful,” a song about different perceptions of beauty.
Although much of the sisters’ music has that Celtic flair, hints of their Western American heritage can be heard. It would be great to see the sisters perform at the Darrington Bluegrass Festival.
Other local performances by the sisters this year include a Nov. 14 show at the Historic Everett Theatre and the band’s traditional Christmas concert Dec. 10 at the Edmonds Center for the Arts.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @galefiege.
If you go
More information about the Gothard Sisters is at www.gothardsisters.com.
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