Zoe Speaks

Zoe Speaks is not your ordinary folk band. They are rooted deep in family, in the music making, storytelling lineages of their rural Eastern Kentucky origins, where music is a part of daily life, and where singing goes hand in hand with working. In addition to sharing banjo, guitar, dulcimer, fiddle, and traditional flatfoot dancing, they connect audiences with stories from their families and communities that help provide a clearer picture of an oft-stereotyped region. To create their southern singer-songwriter sound, they have worked with some of the powerhouses in the folk, Americana, and old-time worlds, with previous albums produced by Mark Schatz, Bruce Molsky, and Dirk Powell. The band consists of Mitch Barrett on guitar, Carla Gover on banjo/guitar/feet, their multi-instrumentalist daughter, Zoey Barrett, and her guitar-wizard fiancé, Arlo Barnette. (And for select gigs, bassist Owen Reynolds). Their music is rooted in the Appalachian sounds they grew up playing, but freely draws on a variety of rhythms and styles from smooth folk-pop to blues and calypso. (Think The Duhks or Tim O'Brien).