The Early Mays

"...bring traditional and original material to spectacular life" (Cindy Howes, Folk Alley, WYEP) with Appalachian-inspired songs built on deep country sensibilities, masterful singing and a sweet old-time sound. They burst on to the folk scene in 2014 with a #2 debut on the National Folk-DJ Charts: an eponymous album where fiddle, banjo and guitar are the backdrop to heart-melting harmony vocals. Most recently, they took home the blue ribbon in the Neo-Traditional Band Competition at Clifftop 2016 (The Appalachian String Band Music Festival), appeared on NPR's Mountain Stage in 2017, and hit the #1 position on the folk charts with their latest release, "Chase the Sun."

Emily Pinkerton (vox, guitar, fiddle, banjo), Ellen Gozion (vox, banjo, harmonium), and their collaborators share songs based in a love of American tradition, while also exploring their own creative voices.  They are celebrated solo artists who bring their rich, and carefully honed craft to The Early Mays.  Emily weaves folk, classical and world music traditions together in her songwriting.  She recently won a New Music USA award for the commission of a piece for old-time banjo and chamber ensemble, "Rounder Songs,"released in 2017 on New Amsterdam Records. Ellen is an accomplished ballad singer and visual artist who has taught at the Augusta Heritage Center, and she teaches the art of crankie-making throughout the mid-Atlantic region.  The Early Mays’ closest collaborators are Rachel Eddy, a prolific old-time performer, and Nicole Myers, a genre-crossing cellist and founding member of Cello Fury.

There is an unsurpassed magic that springs from entwined and entrancing vocal harmonies.  The Early Mays love the camaraderie of the studio, the road and rehearsals, and you can feel the gratitude radiate from whatever stage they are on.  You'll always leave a show carrying a little bit of that warmth away with you.