I’m With Her a band with regional roots

By Katie Chicklinski-Cahill Staff reporter

Thursday, Apr 5, 2018 8:03 PM Updated Thursday, Apr. 5, 2018 10:28 PM

Trio headed to Concert Hall

I’m With Her will be playing at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College.

Courtesy

Folk trio

Featuring musical heavy-hitters Aoife O’Donovan, Sarah Jarosz and Sara Watkins, the women are currently on a tour in support of their debut full-length album, “See You Around,” which was released in February. Their extensive tour will bring them to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College next week.

“Colorado for all of us has been a really special place in our musical development,” Jerosz said in a telephone interview. “Telluride was basically where we decided to be a band. We had a very impromptu performance at the Sheridan Opera House in Telluride in 2014. It was kind of a magical spark, and that’s where it all began.”

And when you see the three perform, it’s that magic spark that gives the appearance that they’ve been playing together a lot longer than a few years.

“I think that was one of the things we noticed early on … not to sound cheesy, but it did seem pretty effortless from the beginning,” Jerosz said. “We love playing together, and it’s been like that kind of from the beginning. We did decide to be a band in 2014, but we’ve all known each other for a really long time. I met Sara when I was 9 years old, and met Aoife when I was 15, so we’ve all just known each other for years and went in the same circles. It’s been a really fun journey so far.”

For the three, that journey began with other bands before forming I’m With Her. According to the band’s website, between the women, they have won multiple Grammys, have released nine solo efforts, have helped form the bands Nickel Creek and Crooked Still, and have contributed to other artists’ albums.

Sharing vocal duties, I’m With Her includes fiddle (Watkins), mandolin (Jerosz) and guitar (O’Donovan). Jerosz said that at their shows, it’s just the three on stage, and at next week’s show, you can plan on hearing much of the new album, which was two years in the making.

And for women working in the music industry, they’ve been lucky, Jerosz said, to have had positive experiences.

“I think for all of us, we’ve been really fortunate to be surrounded by so many people who have been encouraging and helped us so much from the very beginning,” Jerosz said. “I think all of our hopes for that issue is that eventually, we can move beyond that and be appreciated as musicians and not female musicians – just let the music speak for us and speak for itself.

“I think that’s why we always prioritize our musicianship first and foremost and try to have that be the focus.”

katie@durangoherald.com