Spring Update
It's been a while since we did one of these updates, so I thought I'd share a bit of what we've been up to lately. It's been a quiet Spring so far, after our first scheduled tour in Japan (we were originally going to be doing a month of shows there in April this year) got canceled.
what we've been up to lately:
It's been a while since we did one of these updates, so I thought I'd share a bit of what we've been up to lately. It's been a quiet Spring so far, after our first scheduled tour in Japan (we were originally going to be doing a month of shows there in April this year) got canceled.
As such, we ended up getting to take some much-needed time off to explore nature, work on personal projects, connect with friends and family and take a break from social media for a while. (We try to do this periodically, because while some things about social media are great, it's very hard to be creative when you're online a lot.) Do you ever feel like taking a prolonged break from social media?
However, with the extra time we were finally able to finish up the official music video for Hurricane Ridge AND the sheet music for Dragonfly. You may have seen that release already, but we now have the penny whistle tabs and violin sheet music up for the entire album, so if you play one of those instruments and want to learn how to play the songs, you can do that now. So hooray for unexpected extra time - it means we can finish up some projects!
Also, thanks to the free time we've started dabbling in writing some new music. It's definitely early days and there won't be anything released for a while, but it's really fun to discover where our sound is going next. :-)
It has been nice to take a little extra time this Spring to do "normal life things" because the second half of the year is going to be completely packed with touring and live shows. We're super excited to be back on the road in as many areas of the States as we can manage, as well as doing a 6-week tour in Japan and then straight into the PNW Christmas tour! Of course, we will be sure to bring you updates on all of these things.
We are ever-grateful for your support here. We're so lucky to have found a group of people who connect with the same kinds of music and messages and ideas. Stay tuned for more updates!
Here are some pics.
How are you doing?
Learn to Play Dragonfly
Hello everyone, happy April and thank you so much for being here and supporting our music through Patreon!
Tomorrow we're releasing the official sheet music from Dragonfly, as well as our very first video courses! As a lovely Patron, you get early access.
Hello everyone, happy April and thank you so much for being here and supporting our music through Patreon!
Tomorrow we're releasing the official sheet music from Dragonfly, as well as our very first video courses!As a lovely Patron, you get early access.
Check everything out and get in first:
Get Started Here: https://gothardsisters.lpages.co/dragonfly-sheet-music
Hope you enjoy!
Cheers,
Greta, Willow and Solana
The Gothard Sisters
Summer Update
We're officially back on the road doing live shows and it feels so good! The first few shows have been at lovely outdoor venues in the Pacific Northwest. There's nothing like getting to play our music for real people in a beautiful place.
what we've been up to lately:
We're officially back on the road doing live shows and it feels so good! The first few shows have been at lovely outdoor venues in the Pacific Northwest. There's nothing like getting to play our music for real people in a beautiful place.
Between shows we've been busy filming in some of our favorite places in Washington state and enjoying being out in the great outdoors. You've seen the new video for Dragonfly - and we'll give you a hint that no one else knows yet: we have also filmed two more videos for the new album! Hopefully to be released over the rest of the year.
It has also been a lovely time of appreciation as we read notes and messages and reviews from you guys and others who are listening to the new music. The response has been overwhelming. Particularly because the music got us through the winter and it's *personally* our favorite album that we've ever done - it's amazing when that also resonates so strongly with others!
Besides that, it's been fun to work up some of the new songs for performances on stages and figure out what we want to do with them live. Live music is a completely different animal than recording, so it took a few weeks of rehearsals to get ready to play in front of people again. Now we're raring to go!
Here are some pics.
How are you doing?
New Album: Dragonfly
We're so excited to announce that our brand new 12-song album, Dragonfly, is coming out on June 4th and is now available for pre-order! Pre-order the CD or the digital album today and you'll also get an early download of the title track, "Dragonfly." Enjoy!
Good morning, lovely Patrons!
We're so excited to announce that our brand new 12-song album, Dragonfly, is coming out on June 4thand is now available for pre-order!
Pre-order the CD or the digital album today and you'll also get an early download of the title track, "Dragonfly." Enjoy!
Listen to clips here.
Pre-Order the Dragonfly CD here.
Pre-Order the Dragonfly Digital Download here.
The Inspiration Behind Dragonfly
When we set out to write the songs on the new album, Dragonfly, we agreed that we wanted to make it into the kind of album that we originally fell in love with when we first started listening to Celtic music.
At the time, one of our favorite things to do as a family was to listen to the new Celtic folk music of the 80s and 90s while driving through the mountains on camping trips. What drew us to the genre over and over again was how it was both joyful and cool at the same time.
Dragonflies have flown the earth for 300 million years and symbolize our ability to overcome times of hardship. They remind us to take time to reconnect with our own strength, courage, and resilience.
The new songs touch on these themes, from searching for wisdom in “Wise One,” the joy of adventure in “Dragonfly,” to the power of music and community in “Shadow and Sun” and “Long Road.” There’s the story of a long-lost gold mine in “Meet Me at Dawn,” as well as energetic new instrumental tunes “Hurricane Ridge,” “Wildflower Jigs” and “Chasing the Sun.”
This album is the most authentic Gothard Sisters record to date, and combines layers of fiddle, mandolin, acoustic guitar, djembe, bodhran, whistles, and vocal harmonies with modern recording techniques and production.
Woohoo!! Go grab your copy!
Cheers,
Greta, Willow and Solana
The Gothard Sisters
Album Photo Shoot
Meanwhile, here's a sneak peek of what we were up to on Monday and Tuesday this week - we went out to the mountains with our fearless friend and photographer Ruth to do a photo shoot for the new album. This included some epic scenery, along with getting the sunset in the evening and then waking up at dawn to catch the golden morning light on a mountain top.
Wow, you guys, thank you so much for your overwhelmingly positive response to our last poll about sharing the Hummingbird Sessions. We're really looking forward to filming this month's episode and sharing all the songs you chose with everyone online!
Meanwhile, here's a sneak peek of what we were up to on Monday and Tuesday this week - we went out to the mountains with our fearless friend and photographer Ruth to do a photo shoot for the new album. This included some epic scenery, along with getting the sunset in the evening and then waking up at dawn to catch the golden morning light on a mountain top.
The photos are going to look amazing and all the songs on the album are sounding awesome as well! We can't wait to share more of the music and the finished photos with you soon.
'Til then, stay tuned for this month's Hummingbird Sessions concert on Saturday!
Happy New Year!
oh how wonderful to be heading into a brand new year!! 🎉🎶🎻Although 2020 was far from what we expected, there were definitely highlights that made this year special! Here are a few of them..
oh how wonderful to be heading into a brand new year!! 🎉🎶🎻
Although 2020 was far from what we expected, there were definitely highlights that made this year special! Here are a few of them..
✨ half of a St. Patrick’s Day tour back in March!
✨ Launched Patreon (!!) Released 12 episodes of the Cozy Celtic Concert series, then started the Hummingbird Sessions. 😊
✨ 2 new music videos and a new single: Wandering, and Chasing the Sun.
✨ Two big online concerts for St. Patrick’s Day and Christmas.
✨ Learned that everyone has a Hobbit name 😂
✨Started working on a new album... 🌱
We have big plans in the works for 2021 that we can’t wait to share with you all!! Everyone take care of yourselves and let’s all hope for the best in the coming year. Thank you all SO MUCH for your support this year.
We're especially grateful for all of you and the community we have here on Patreon. Cheers!
Greta, Willow, and Solana
Happy December!
Hello lovely Patrons - thanks for joining us for December! We have a fun month planned here, including this month's Christmas - themed episode of the Hummingbird Sessions (wow, how are we going to decide which songs to include? They're all wonderful!).
Hello lovely Patrons - thanks for joining us for December!
We have a fun month planned here, including this month's Christmas - themed episode of the Hummingbird Sessions (wow, how are we going to decide which songs to include? They're all wonderful!).
On December 4th, we'll be posting our full stage Christmas show online as well, which you can see here.
On top of all that, we're super busy filling orders from our store. We highly recommend that if you plan to get gifts from our shop, you place the orders before December 10th - that way you'll get them in time for Christmas!
In light of that, we have a discount code for you! This is only available for Patrons. Just enter code PATRON2020 at the checkout and you'll get 10% off your order.
>>> Gothard Sisters Shop <<<
Thank you once again and I hope you enjoy this month on Patreon! ❄️🎄✨
Greta, Willow and Solana
The Gothard Sisters
Autumn Update
We're officially back in the studio and have begun recording and writing the rest of the songs for the new album. It was wonderful to release the first song off the album, Chasing the Sun, back in September. Since then we've finished two more new songs and we have a packed schedule over the next few months to get the rest recorded as well!
what we've been up to lately:
We're officially back in the studio and have begun recording and writing the rest of the songs for the new album. It was wonderful to release the first song off the album, Chasing the Sun, back in September. Since then we've finished two more new songs and we have a packed schedule over the next few months to get the rest recorded as well!
Releasing anything, even if it's just a single, takes a lot of time and energy to coordinate so we were in a bit of a whirlwind. But now that things have died down again, our new website and shopify store are up and running (!!) and the single is out in the world, we can get back to concentrating on the rest of the songs for the album.
We're also super excited about posting our Christmas show on December 4th and ringing in the beginning of the holidays with all of our fans online. Will you be there?
Meanwhile, nature never ceases to be inspiring! Bright leaf colors, misty woods, frosty mornings, and intricate spiderwebs fill the view from the studio, as well as majestic snow-frosted mountain peaks.
Here are some pics.
How are you doing?
Summer Update
Greta has been hard at work coming up with fun Patreon updates and writing brand new lyrics. Willow is recording and writing sweet new fiddle sounds and also learning sound engineering.
what we've been up to lately:
Greta has been hard at work coming up with fun Patreon updates and writing brand new lyrics.
Willow is recording and writing sweet new fiddle sounds and also learning sound engineering.
Solana has been learning how to play Ukulele and brewing her own kombucha.
The guitar got a spa day.
Fiona has not gotten to go to the beach yet and she's very mad about it.
Nature has been growing and swaying and being very hopeful and encouraging.
Here are some pics.
How are you doing?
Disney Friends
These are a few moments from two different days playing background music in the lobby atrium of the Disney Magic cruise ship a few summers back. We always loved these days when we got to play music while all the fabulous Disney characters took pictures with guests. It was especially magical when the kids started to dance along with our music.
These are a few moments from two different days playing background music in the lobby atrium of the Disney Magic cruise ship a few summers back. We always loved these days when we got to play music while all the fabulous Disney characters took pictures with guests. It was especially magical when the kids started to dance along with our music.
The first photo is of Stitch telling us something with a silent stare.
The second is of a little girl who was the most graceful dancer - she went for nearly an hour dancing to our music after dinner in her sleeping beauty outfit. It was beautiful.