The Gothard Sisters

Background

The Gothard sisters were raised in Edmonds, Washington. Greta began to take classical violin lessons when she was five years old, followed by Willow and then by Solana, when they reached the same age. One day their mother brought home a video of the theatrical show Riverdance, which inspired the girls to enroll in Irish dance classes, and they also became fond of Celtic music. All three became accomplished Irish dancers, and they began to perform classical music and Irish dance at farmers markets, wedding ceremonies, and festivals, to raise funds for travelling to regional and world championships of Irish dance, known as Oireachtas, where they have won awards. The sisters qualified for the World Championships three years in a row.

Career

While performing in their home town, the ensemble was discovered by a talent scout from Nashville in 2007, who became their agent. As the sisters continued to compete in Irish dance championships, they began to travel throughout the United States to many fairs and Celtic festivals, and they polished their performances by gradually learning to play various other instruments, such as the guitar, electric guitar, bodhrán, mandolin, cajón and the pennywhistle, while also showing their dancing skills onstage. Additionally, they all became singers, with Solana performing as the lead vocalist. The Gothard Sisters were named the Best New Irish Artists of 2013 by the Irish Music Awards.

The group has released several albums of Celtic music, including new arrangements of traditional songs as well as original compositions. The track "Little Drummer Girl" from their Christmas album (2010) was chosen for the Putumayo World Music 2014 Celtic Christmas compilation; the song was also featured on BBC Radio Scotland's Travelling Folk show in December 2012, as well as on the national public service broadcaster of Ireland, Raidió Teilifís Éireann, in December 2014. Their album Story Girl (2011) was awarded Album of the Year by Celtic Radio. The music videos that the trio upload to YouTube are filmed and edited by Greta, whereas Willow is in charge of sewing the costumes they use for performances.