"The chemistry between Moynihan & Chaimbeul is a tangible, palpable entity at the heart of their collaboration, making for as natural a sound as I have yet heard in contemporary, instrumental acoustic music, and a classic example of how wonders can transpire when you find ‘your people.’ "- David Morrison, Folk Radio UK
"Jenna and Màiri are extraordinarily deep musicians at the leading edge of Celtic music—one of many ethnic threads that feed into what became American roots music. They’re at the top of the Celtic world.”- Matt Glaser
Jenna, from Lakewood, NY, and Màiri, from the Isle of Skye, combine to make contemporary music rooted in the melodies of Scotland and Appalachia. The pair met in 2012 whilst studying at Berklee College of Music and are a product of the thriving and rich Boston music community, and have since toured in US, Scotland, and France. Jenna and Màiri have both been heavily steeped in tradition, but their music breathes new life into old tunes and merges their wide-ranging influences into a sound that is at once grounded and adventurous. To hear Jenna & Màiri is to bear witness to conversation, connection, and expression between two of the most exciting voices in traditional music today. Their debut album, One Two was released in April 2017, and has been a widely-celebrated first release for the duo.
Jenna Moynihan is widely regarded as one of the best of the best in the new generation of acoustic musicians. Versatile and inventive, her fiddling style draws strongly from the Scottish tradition, but is not bound by it. Folk Radio UK said of her playing, “…from the first time you hear Moynihan, it is clear that her playing is resonating straight from the depths of her soul.” Jenna graduated Berklee College of Music with honors and was a recipient of both the Fletcher Bright Award & The American Roots Award - given annually to an outstanding student in the String Department. She’s performed around the world in The U.K., Sweden, Norway, France, Denmark, Italy, Belgium, Finland & Canada. And has performed and collaborated with Darol Anger & The Furies, The Milk Carton Kids, Hamish Napier, Old Blind Dogs, Laura Cortese & The Dance Cards, Apiary, Phil Cunningham, A Celtic Sojourn, and as a soloist at Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops. In 2015 Jenna released her debut solo album, Woven.
Màiri Chaimbeul is a Boston-based harp player and composer. Described by Folk Radio UK as "astonishing", she is known for her versatile sound, which combines a deep-rooted sense of Gaelic tradition with a distinctive improvising voice and honed classical technique. Mairi has toured throughout the UK, Europe and North America; was twice-nominated for the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award and finalist in the BBC Young Traditional & Jazz Musician of the Year; and graduated from Berklee College of Music with highest honours and the prestigious American Roots Award. Màiri can currently be heard regularly with new prog-trad group Aerialists, the Jacob Matheus Group, and also appears with legendary violinist Darol Anger & The Furies. Recent highlights include performances & teaching at the III Encuentro Internacional Maestros del Arpa in Bogota, Colombia, and a feature in Series 2 of Julie Fowlis and Muireann NicAmhlaoibh's BBC Alba/TG4 television show, Port.