Julie Henigan, musician, songwriter and scholar, defies conventional musical categories.
While primarily known for her unerring command of the distinct though related idioms of
traditional Irish and southern American music, she also performs a wide range of contemporary
and original material; yet her unique style and impeccable musicianship lend her performances
both seamless unity and striking originality. Her performances have been characterized as “mesmerizing,”
her vocals as “stunning,” and her instrumental work as “absolutely superior.”
A native of the Missouri Ozarks, an area noted for its rich
musical traditions, Julie has long had a deep affinity for
southern American music. Several lengthy stays in England and
Ireland have enhanced her innate feel for British and Celtic
music, and her work as a folklorist and scholar has added even
greater depth to her engaging performances.
A singer of remarkable depth and skill, Julie performs songs both
in English and Irish Gaelic, unaccompanied and accompanied on
open-tuned guitar, five-string banjo, mountain dulcimer, and
fiddle. Her song accompaniments are subtle and captivating, while
her guitar, banjo, and fiddle instrumentals (many of them her own
compositions) are at once understated and accomplished. Her
“Farewell Song” has been recorded by Sharon Fountain and fellow
Waterbug artist Kate MacCleod, and her rendition of the
traditional song “Adieu, My Lovely Nancy” (on American Stranger)
has inspired recordings and performances of the song by, among
others, Altan, Jeff Davis, and Pete Coe.
Julie has performed solo at clubs, festivals, schools, dances,
and concerts throughout the United States, Canada, the United
Kingdom, and Ireland. She has also been a member of a number of
Irish and old-time bands (including Uncle Pink, with Barbara
Weathers and Kim Lansford); has shared the stage with a variety
of singers and musicians, including Sara Grey, Magaret Bennett,
Bill Caddick, and Bob Holt; and has opened for such luminaries of
Irish music as Altan, Paddy Glackin and Donal Lunny, Craobh Rua,
and Mick Hanly. Her recording of a Donegal song, Thíos i dTeach
an Tórraimh, appears on an anthology of songs called Sean-Nós
Cois Locha: Rogha Sean-Nós Milwaukee 2003, 2005-2006 (“Sean-Nós on a
Lake: Selections from Sean-Nós Milwaukee 2003-2005”), released
on the Cló Iar-Chonnachta label in 2006 ( http://www.cic.ie.)
Author of
a popular Mel Bay book/CD on DADGAD fingerstyle guitar, Julie
also has a highly lauded CD on the Waterbug label, entitled
American Stranger (www.waterbug.com.)
What others have said:
“I know Julie from years ago, when I was living
in Donegal. She used to come to collect songs. She’s a
fantastic Gaelic speaker. She’s like one of the locals. She’s
like a reflection of the old music in America. I can see where
the Irish and Scottish influences are in traditional American
music. When she sings, she has the nuances of our older
singers.”—Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, South Bend Tribune, 4/10/05.
“With performers of the calibre, passion and sensitivity of Julie Henigan, the tradition is in safe hands.” --Dave White, Rock ‘n’ Reel Magazine
“Her interpretation is so natural, so simple and so right that you’d swear you were listening to . . . well, listening to ‘real’ singing, as opposed to the imitative stuff learned from recordings that so many singers do.” --Bill Spence, Andy’s Front Hall
“Julie has an ear for excellent versions of traditional songs, and she's pretty handy at finding them. Here she also reveals a skill in composition on several tunes and an attractive 'farewell' song.... This is rich material, thoughtfully and skillfully performed. Julie convincingly spans the North American, Irish and British traditions. She should be booked wherever audiences enjoy a true and uncluttered approach to traditional music.” --The Living Tradition
“Her vocals are a stunning blend of all that is best from both the American and the Irish traditions.... Julie Henigan has strength and sensitivity in equal abundance.” --The Leicester Mercury
“She plays the guitar and fiddle with subtle delicacy, and sings with a degree of clarity and expressiveness that is especially moving.” --Steve Senderoff, the Bothy Club, Philadelphia, PA
“Her accompaniments . . . provide an engaging setting for her honest and unpretentious songs, and her performances are illuminated by a depth of knowledge seldom encountered in the world of folk music.” --George Thomas, BBC Radio Leicester
“She has the voice, she has the style, she tells the story with firm conviction and never
wastes a note.” –Roy Harris, Taplas
“Her creative playing and singing is intimate and fresh, with guitar and banjo work that is clean and assured--expressive, yet tastefully restrained.” --Roger Dietz, Acoustic Guitar
A Live Review:
"Several lesser known yet masterful American artists have toured here recently, but with the exception of the remarkable Cathy Fink, the best of them is Julie Henigan, currently resident in the Midlands. Julie was one of the highlights of last year's Whitby festival, and after one performance received an accolade from the great Irish singer Dolores Keane, who referred to her "grand singing." A native of Missouri, and a professional scholar of the ornamented sean-nós style of singing, her vocals are a stunning blend of all that is best from both the American and the Irish traditions. A multi-instrumentalist, she is a striking player and arranger when it comes to guitar accompaniments. Julie Henigan has strength and sensitivity in equal abundance". --Steve Hampshire, The Leicester Mercury, 1987
