Live From Lyons, Colorado:
“Take Down the Door”

Featuring (left to right): Eric Thorin, bass ; Jessie Burns, fiddle; Adam Agee, fiddle;
          Beth Gadbaw, vocals & bodhran; Jon Sousa, guitar
Listen to “Live in Lyons”

While each of these musicians can be featured in their own right, we are looking forward to hearing them together as they “Take Down the Door.”  All of these fine musicians have individually enchanted Festival goers in the past, some more than once, but are returning in 2018 to not only to share their individual talents, but together as a new group.

Described as “a powerhouse Celtic band” (Boulder Weekly), Take Down the Door hearkens the old Irish tradition of taking the door off its hinges and throwing it down on a dirt cottage floor when it was time for a party.  Now inspiring the modern Celtic world to do the same is Take Down the Door, a new trad band from Lyons and Boulder Colorado. The band’s foot-stomping, heart-stopping, wide-open sound reflects both the band’s name and its natural habitat.

 With nothing but stellar musicianship from all five of its members, Take Down the Door takes the stage with a variety of dance tunes and songs from Ireland and her diaspora. With an impressively high-energy traditional sound that is guaranteed to make you want to join in the fun, Take Down the Door is ready to get the party started.

Fiddler Jessie Burns comes from a mix of English, Irish and American cultures and has explored the folk music of each of these countries from a young age, thanks to the encouragement of her large, musical family. She has lived on three continents and has traveled extensively and no matter where she has ended up, she’s found welcoming Irish and folk music groups to play with and form community. Her main instrument is the fiddle, but she also plays piano, tenor banjo and mandolin. Most recent adventures include six unforgettable years touring internationally for over 200 days a year with American-Irish Supergroup Gaelic Storm.

Eric Thorin is a musician based in Lyons, Colorado.  Raised in a musical family, his first professional engagement was playing trombone next to his father in a big band. Current projects include The Matt Flinner Trio, with Mandolinist Matt Flinner, and guitarist Ross Martin, as well as playing with Mollie O’Brien and Rich Moore, and with Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band.  Eric lives in Lyons, Colorado with his wife fiddler Jessie Burns.

Described by Irish Music Magazine as “exceptional,” singer Beth Leachman Gadbaw made her mark as singer for acclaimed traditional group Siucra.  She is a Celtic traditional singer and drummer based in Lyons, Colorado.  Her live shows and solo CD feature a tour de force of acclaimed traditional musicians, including Roger Landes (bouzouki), Frederic Pouille (guitar), and Sandra Wong (nyckelharpa & fiddle).  She currently performs with high-energy Celtic band Take Down the Door, with ethereal Celtic harp and vocal duo Gadbaw & Krimmel.
“There is a joy in her face and in Beth’s  whole being when she sings her stories.” Lyons Recorder
“Her voice is an instrument in its own right.” Sing Out!           Visit Beth at Beth Gadbaw

Adam Agee and Jon Sousa are two of Colorado’s most sought-after traditional Irish musicians.  Their music has been called “sincere and from the heart” by top traditional fiddler Martin Hayes.  Since 2004, they have been journeying together through the Irish idiom on fiddle, guitar, and tenor banjo, enchanting listeners on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.  Adam and Jon have put down musical roots in County Clare, where they lived together, and now make frequent visits.  Their connection to their instruments and the transcendent energy in their music is guaranteed to captivate and uplift audiences of all ages.  In recent years, they have appeared at the Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival, where they performed on stage with Dennis Cahill, John Doyle, Robbie O’Connell, as well as Martin Hayes.  They were honored to headline at the first annual Durango Celtic Festival in March of 2013, and recently performed with Bonnie Paine of Elephant Revival fame in Loveland, Colorado.  Visit Adam and Jon