Windborne

USA | 2021 PARTICIPANTS


Windborne at the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse Oct 19, 2019


Internationally acclaimed vocal group Windborne is known for the power and innovation of their arrangements, as well as their mastery of polyphonic music from a variety of cultures. Their musical knowledge spans many countries and styles, but they remain deeply rooted in American folk singing traditions.

“The most exciting vocal group in a generation… subverting expectations and redefining the genre,” Lynn Rowan, Will Rowan, Lauren Breunig, and Jeremy Carter-Gordon share a vibrant energy onstage, their connection to each other and to the music clearly evident. They educate as they entertain, telling stories about the music and explaining the characteristics of the traditions in which they sing.

But there’s another, crucial dimension to Windborne. They are adherents to folk music’s longtime association with social activism, labor, civil rights, and other movements that champion the poor, the working class, and the disenfranchised. Drawing on songs from 400 years of these movements, they were launched to new heights in 2017 when a clip of them singing a protest song from the 1840s outside Trump Tower went viral. They continue to center their work around songs of social struggle.