OUR STORY
The Bow Tides is a powerhouse Celtic ensemble led by three Irish fiddlers: Ellery Klein, Jessie Burns and Katie Grennan. These dynamic women are veterans of the stage and studio, with a collective 15 years as the fiddlers with the Irish-American supergroup Gaelic Storm.
In summer of pandemic 2020, the world over was feeling lost and in much need of connection, inspiration and community. Jessie, Katie and Ellery, located in three different states, received an invitation to create an online performance for the Spanish Peaks International Celtic Festival. They decided this was the perfect opportunity to join their mighty creative forces.
Grammy-nominated bassist Eric Thorin and guitarist Jeff Lindblade were enlisted to hold down the low end, and the ideas started flowing- and they haven’t stopped. Drawing from decades of playing traditional Irish fiddle, bonded by their love of composition and rich harmonic arrangements, and a deep creative, calling, the five set to work. The Bow Tides was born – an unexpected silver lining, and they haven’t looked back since.
After the success of their first all-online collaboration, they were invited by Pittsburgh Irish Festival to produce another performance. Garnering rave reviews, one year later they all met in person at last, hitting the main stage at the 2021 Pittsburgh Irish Festival with the debut of their unique collaboration of stunning original compositions, rich harmonies and driving traditional tunes, songs featuring the rich baritone of Jeff Lindblade and Katie Grennan’s Irish dance.
Summer 2022 saw The Bow Tides inspiring audiences to standing ovations at festivals nationwide, evoking tears with their beautiful slow compositions, and raucous cheers and hollers for their high-energy reels and jigs.
Their debut recording, Sailing On, is packed full of gorgeous original compositions as well as a breadth of uniquely arranged traditional tunes from Ireland, Scotland and Galicia.
The Bow Tides is a band that celebrates community and collaboration, delivering uplifting music that evokes joy, with a feel and sound unlike anything else out there.
Jessie Burns
Jessie Burns grew up in England in a large and musical family, surrounded with Irish Culture and music through her Dad’s side of the family. She has been playing multiple instruments, including the violin since the age of 7. Jessie has recorded with many musicians including Gregory Allan Isakov, The Mollie O’Brien Band and The Bow Tides to name a few. She is best known for the six years she spent touring internationally with Irish-American Super-group, Gaelic Storm with whom she recorded three #1 Billboard World Music hit albums.
Jessie runs a busy music school, teaching violin/fiddle and piano and also teaches at camps and workshops nationwide such as Montana Fiddle Camp, Grand Targee Music Camp and Spanish Peaks International Celtic Festival. Jessie also co-produces the annual international fiddle school “Fiddle Frenzy” with her colleagues from The Bow Tides.
She can be heard performing with The Bonnie Paine Band, Take Down the Door and with the nationally based female Celtic fiddling trio, The Bow Tides. Jessie resides with her husband, bass player Eric Thorin, and their young daughters near Boulder, Colorado.
Katie Grennan
Katie Grennan’s traditional fiddle playing carries the articulation of a gifted classical musician tempered by the soul of a champion Irish dancer. Her wide ranging experience as an international touring performer in both live stage productions and television have given her a unique platform as an ambassador for the music of her heart.
Born and raised in Wexford, PA though residing in the Chicagoland area for over a decade, Katie has recorded a number of solo albums and is the founding member of number of cutting edge musical projects, including The Bow Tides & Chicago-based STEAM Quartet.
As a highly sought-after instructor of both traditional music and dance, she works with fiddlers of all ages and levels both in-person and virtually and is a lead instructor at the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance based in Chicago. Katie plays for Irish step dance competitions (Feiseanna) and championships around the country, and her music tailored especially for Irish dancers can be found on the Feis App.
Ellery Klein
Ellery Klein fiddles with an authentic and driving style forged from decades in Boston, MA. She lived for several years in Ireland, and earned an MA in Traditional Irish Music from the University of Limerick in 2001.
Ellery toured nationally with Gaelic Storm from 2003-2007. She currently performs with Portland, ME-Boston Irish music trio Fodhla. Ellery is passionate about conservation and nature, and along with Laurel Martin has created a program of Irish tunes focused on birds-and-agriculturally-themed tunes called “Stop and Listen: Irish Music’s Invitation to Observe.” In 2015, she traveled to Duluth, MN to perform the Celtic violin in Nickitas Demos’ “Long Journey Home, Double Concerto for Celtic Fiddler and Bluegrass Fiddler” with the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra.
Ellery loves to “give back” and currently teaches fiddle to a large studio of youth fiddlers in Medford and Belmont, MA, as well as online lessons and workshops. She taught fiddle for several years at the Boston Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann branch, has been a well-received and repeat instructor at Fiddle Hell, and in 2021 joined Katie, Jessie and Winifred Horan to launch the online winter fiddle and conversation weekend, Fiddle Frenzy.
Eric Thorin
Eric Thorin is a highly regarded musician/bassist living on the front range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. He can be found on stage in 2022 in The Matt Flinner Trio with Ross Martin, on the road and on a new release from the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, Bonnie Paine, Tony Furtado and more. Owner of Ethoriole Music, Eric was honored to be included on Grammy nominated recording Man On Fire by Danny Barnes.
Eric remains active in the studio as producer and performer, has written hundreds of compositions as a member of The Matt Flinner Trio, orchestrated songs for Elephant Revival with the Colorado Symphony and Colorado Music Festival Orchestra and mixed, mastered and produced the debut recording release of Take Down the Door, Live in Lyons.
Teaching is a big part of his presence in 2022 including the Spanish Peaks Celtic Festival and serving as adjunct faculty in the Folk and Bluegrass program at the University of Northern Colorado.
Jeff Lindblade
Jeff Lindblade is a multi-instrumental performer based in Chicago, USA. passionate about making Irish traditional music accessible to listeners with modern musical sensibilities. Jeff is a member of the Chicago-based STEAM Quartet. In addition to being a welcomed player at local music sessions, he has performed across the US and internationally with several Irish stage and dance productions.