With the 2014 formation of I’m With Her, singer/songwriters Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan and Sara Watkins introduced an essential new force into the world of folk music: a close-knit alliance of highly esteemed musicians, each graced with a deep understanding of folk tradition and unbridled passion for expanding its possibilities. Since delivering their critically lauded debut See You Around and standalone singles like “Call My Name” (winner of the 2020 Grammy for Best American Roots Song), the trio have routinely taken time out from their individual careers to dream up songs together—eventually arriving at a new album exploring themes of ancestry, lineage, and the collective human experience. On their long-awaited sophomore LP Wild and Clear and Blue, I’m With Her now bring their luminous harmonies to a soul-searching body of work about reaching into the past, navigating a chaotic present, and bravely moving forward into the unknown.

In a departure from the stripped-back intimacy of See You Around—a 2018 release that turned up on best-of-the-year lists from the likes of The New York Times—Wild and Clear and Blue centers on a far more elaborate sound informed by the band’s extensive touring and acclaimed performances at festivals around the globe. “Because we’ve played together so much at this point, we have a much stronger sense of what we’re capable of creating together,” says Jarosz. “We wanted to be open to anything on this record, and give ourselves more space for the solo sections to really breathe.” Produced by Josh Kaufman—a member of Bonny Light Horseman and multi-instrumentalist / songwriter / arranger / producer who’s worked with Bob Weir and The National—the album finds each member handling a variety of instruments (mandolin, octave mandolin, guitar, and banjo for Jarosz; guitar and piano for O’Donovan; fiddle, cello, and organ for Watkins), instilling a potent vitality into every track. “Sometimes in the studio songs end up losing a bit of their sparkle, but with this record everything kept tumbling forward in a very natural, positive way,” says Watkins. Also featuring drummer JT Bates (Andrew Bird, Taylor Swift) as well as Kaufman’s contributions on everything from lap steel to Wurlitzer, Wild and Clear and Blue ultimately adds a bold new urgency to I’m With Her’s delicate entangling of lived-in narrative and fable-like storytelling.

All multi-Grammy-winners with deep roots in the folk scene, Watkins, Jarosz and O’Donovan first discovered their near-telepathic chemistry during an impromptu performance at the 2014 Telluride Bluegrass Festival and quickly co-founded I’m With Her. Over the years, their profound sense of kinship has only intensified, often allowing for a certain charmed fluidity in the creative process. 

“There were so many wonderful moments in the studio where we noticed commonalities between the songs that we sometimes hadn’t intended, either melodically or harmonically or even lyrically, with a line in one song almost responding to another song,” says Watkins. “It all feels very cyclical in a way that adds another dimension to the meaning of the songs, and shows the sincerity of feeling we all brought to the album.” 

With Jarosz, O’Donovan, and Watkins sharing writing credits on all 11 songs, Wild and Clear and Blue owes much of its beauty and power to the generosity of spirit embraced by each member. “When we write together it’s almost like we’re a three-headed creature—there’s never any need to take ownership of ideas, and always an ease of letting go when something isn’t working,” says O’Donovan. And for I’m With Her, that sense of musical communion has proven endlessly rewarding on multiple levels. “One of my favorite things about being in this band is actually listening to my bandmates,” says Watkins. “I’m such a fan of these two people, and it’s a huge pleasure to listen back to this album and remember how amazing it is that I got to make it with them.”

For more information, visit https://imwithherband.com/

Brothers Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn, known as Ye Vagabonds, grew up playing music together around their hometown of Carlow, a small town in the southeast of Ireland. After moving to Dublin in 2012, they quickly became a staple of the live music and session scene in Ireland, playing their own original songs as well as folk songs from Ireland, Scotland, England and America.

In 2014 they came to the attention of Arbutus Yarns’ music filmmaker Myles O’Reilly, whose videos gained international attention for the brothers for the first time.

After a chance meeting at Electric Picnic in September 2015, the brothers performed onstage with Glen Hansard, who invited them to open for him on his European tour the following October.

Their debut EP Rose & Briar was released on October 7th 2015. Following this, they were busy touring Ireland, the UK and Europe, opening for acts such as Villagers, Roy Harper and Lisa Hannigan (whose band they played in for her Irish tour, June 2016). They have played sold out headline shows in Ireland, France, Switzerland and the UK.

Ye Vagabonds has made numerous television and live radio appearances in Ireland, and were also part of ‘Imagining Home’, a live broadcast concert in the National Concert Hall of Ireland, 2016, curated by Glen Hansard, Philip King and Gary Sheehan.

In October 2017 they launched their debut, self-titled album to great acclaim. Ye Vagabonds performs harmony rich folk music, influenced by Irish traditional music, Appalachian singing, and the 1960's folk revival. It features ten mellow tracks weaved with thoughtful lyrics, thickly layered with strings and droning harmonium.

Their second album, The Hare’s Lament, was released in March 2019 to huge critical acclaim, winning the BBC Radio Two Folk Award for Best Traditional Track, and they sweeping the boards at the RTÉ Radio One Folk Awards where they won Best Traditional Track, Best Group and Best Album.

A long-awaited EP came out in January 2020 and their new album, Nine Waves, was released on Rough Trade’s River Lea label on May 13, 2025. The album was recorded in the Dublin Mountains at Hellfire Studios and features 11 tracks of both traditional and original songs and tunes. The brotherly harmonies and multi-instrumental abilities of Diarmuid and Brían Mac Gloinn were joined by Kate Ellis (cello) and Caimin Gilmore (double bass), both members of the Irish contemporary classical group Crash Ensemble, and Ryan Hargadon (Anna Mieke, Rachael Lavelle, Kojaque) on piano and saxophone. The record also features concertina from Cormac Begley and harmonium from regular touring member of Ye Vagabonds, Alain McFadden.