Matt & Shannon Heaton at Caffe Lena - 04/12/2012

Matt & Shannon Heaton

Matt & Shannon Heaton's original Celtic music is built on strong traditional bones, fleshed out by a deep engagement with the modern world around them. They learned their chops in Irish music sessions in Chicago and on regular trips to Ireland, where they studied with some of County Clare's finest. But once you scratch the traditional pedigree you find a unique vibe. Shannon contributes a keen love of language and folk melody accrued through a childhood spent on Navajo Reservations and in Nigeria and Thailand. Matt is a life-long music student who has played classical guitar in Italy, rock in Chicago, and tango in Denver. Irish Music Magazine's John O'Regan wrote, "their duet playing is tight, sweet, and tasteful, lacking nothing on either technical expertise or instrumental virtuosity. Songwise [there are] hints an older domestic sound, the familiar down home harmonies of The Carter Family and Tim and Mollie O'Brien."