Talaria

Talaria was born during the summer of 2004, when Ellen Schmidt asked siblings Justine and Eric McDonald to share a feature at her open mike. The idea was to split the time as separate acts, but Justine and Eric decided to try something they hadn't tried since they were tikes: playing together. Things clicked, and the duo's sound emerged.

With smart sibling harmonies, hard-driving folk-pop originals, and a healthy respect for traditional folk forms, the duo is poised to join the ranks of family folk ensembles like Disappear Fear and The Nields. Since forming, the duo has gone on to open for Brian Webb at the Labyrinth Coffeehouse and has performed at venues such as Club Passim in Cambridge, Springstep Center for the Arts in Medford, the Emerson Umbrella in Concord, and The Nameless Coffeehouse also in Cambridge. Guitarist and vocalist Justine brings her pensive, powerful tunes to the group, while Eric (guitar, mandolin, and vocals) offers infectious, upbeat, bluegrass-influenced originals.