O'Donovan goes "Transatlantic"

The song was commissioned by the Irish Arts Center's Grasta project.

O'Donovan said, "I started writing 'Transatlantic' many years ago - after one of my frequent trips across the pond. The lyric started as a classic love song, but when I dusted it off to complete it for this project with the Irish Arts Center, it became something different. I felt strangely moved by the nostalgia and longing for camaraderie, innocently described by my pre-pandemic self."

"As I finished the tune in January of this year - feeling certain of nothing but the uncertainty of these times - I immediately began to hear the voice of Kris Drever, a friend based in Glasgow (Scotland). Kris enlisted his trio mates Euan Burton and Louis Abbott to be the rhythm section and layered the recording with the inimitable strings of Jeremy Kittel. The refrain references the old classic Loch Lomond, a 'song from another time,' Raise a glass. We will be together again soon."

In the Irish Arts Center's Grasta series, of which O'Donovan's "Transatlantic" is a highlight, wide-ranging artists respond to the prompt to create something considering the idea of finding grace in uncertainty. The commissioned works comprise a collective that chronicles the current moment, of how we felt and what we learned, and of what redemption we might find and carry forward. The Irish Arts Center was founded in 1972 and is based in Hell's Kitchen, New York City.

"Transatlantic" comes on the heels of 2020's Bull Frogs Croon (And Other Songs) EP, which originated from a collaborative piece that premiered in 2015's Oregon's Britt Music and Arts Festival and incorporated the work of the late Oregon poet laureate Peter Sears. She has also released two live albums via Bandcamp: "Live from Black Birch" and "Live from the Church of the Sacred Heart."

This spring, O'Donovan will premiere a new work with the Orlando Philharmonic, at a pair of shows on May 8 in Festival Park, Fla. The piece titled, "America, Come" honors the 101st anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which secured women's right to vote in the U.S. Constitution. Arranged by Tanner Porter, the song cycle was commissioned by the Orlando Philharmonic.

Beginning in Belfast in late January 2022, O'Donovan will embark on a transatlantic tour with stops throughout Ireland and the UK before headlining the Barbican, Milton Court Concert Hall in London.

Throughout her career, she has co-founded the bands I'm With Her and Crooked Still, is a featured vocalist on The Goat Rodeo Sessions with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile, and spent a decade contributing to the radio variety show "Live From Here."

Upcoming tour dates:
April 1 - Mandolin - Livestream
April 10 - Festival of the South - Tallahassee, FL
May 8 - Festival Park with the Orlando Philharmonic - Orlando, FL

2022 UK+IE TOUR DATES
Jan. 28 - Out To Lunch Festival at Rosemary Street Church - Belfast, UK
Jan. 29 - Liberty Hall - Dublin, IE
Jan. 30 - St. Luke's - Cork, IE
Feb. 1 - St. Paul's -- Birmingham, UK
Feb. 2 -- Barbican, Milton Court Concert Hall - London, UK
Feb. 3 - St. Peter's Church - Manchester, UK
Feb. 4 - Sage 2 - Gateshead, UK
Feb. 5 - Junction 2 - Cambridge, UK