Duo pulling strings this Saturday

Musicians blend Celtic, Americana ingredients

By Rob Cullivan

The Gresham Outlook, Feb 17, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Contributed photo

Elizabeth Nicholson and Lauren Sheehan have combined their loves of Celtic and Americana music for three years in the unique duo Strawberry Rune.

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Three years ago, Elizabeth Nicholson, a harpist, got a chance to jam with Lauren Sheehan, who plays guitar, mandolin and banjo.

“I think a lot of people feel like you shouldn’t play the harp with Americana music, but she was very open and accepting,” Nicholson says. “I had a lot of fun improvising on the kind of bluesy songs she was playing. (The harp) really does fill the same spaces as a piano.”

Yes, you don’t normally think of harp as an instrument folks use when they’re pickin’ and grinnin’ at a hoedown. However, Nicholson is no ordinary harpist. Unlike many classically trained musicians, she prefers to play by ear rather than play what’s on the page.

“I was a pretty strong ear learner and a pretty weak sight learner,” she says.

Out of that party jam session was born Strawberry Rune, a duo specializing in old and contemporary songs, ballads and bawdy pub tunes, Celtic, American and gospel pieces and other earthy rich music. The duo harmonizes vocally as well with Nicholson taking the high road, and Sheehan taking the low.

“People want to come because of the novelty,” Sheehan says. “We both love deep rich sonorous timber and velvety sounds.”

Road to rune

The duo chose its name to signify its musical origins, Sheehan says. Runes, ancient symbols inscribed in stones, are used in the pagan practice of divining, and Sheehan adds the duo’s name is a pun on “Strawberry Roan,” an old cowboy song popularized by such singers as Marty Robbins. Hence, their name signifies the duo’s roots in ancient music as well as its American influences.

“Strawberries are hard to disagree with unless you’ve got an allergy,” she adds with a chuckle. “It’s something welcome and refreshing, and they’ve got a beautiful color.”

Nicholson notes the harp is commonly associated with Celtic music, one of the most powerful streams to contribute to the American tonal river. As the women play, Strawberry Rune builds an aural bridge for its listeners between the world of the Celts and the world of the cowboys.

Sheehan adds that the women like to experiment with different rhythms and registers, and notes she and Nicholson structure sets around whatever is happening seasonally, whether performing songs about the coming spring or songs about the looming autumn.

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