Bonny Light Horseman

Over the years, Bonny Light Horseman has accumulated many miles on the collective odometer of life. The band’s core trio – Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson, and Josh Kaufman – has amassed an incomparable résumé. Mitchell is a celebrated solo artist and the playwright and songwriter behind the hit Broadway musical Hadestown, which garnered eight Tony Awards and a Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album. Johnson is best known as the mind behind beloved indie mainstays Fruit Bats, as a longtime collaborator with The Shins, and as a film score composer. Kaufman is a multi-hyphenate extraordinaire: songwriter, producer, and utility player, having recorded and performed with artists ranging from Bob Weir to The War on Drugs, Taylor Swift, Hiss Golden Messenger, and The Hold Steady. As a group, Bonny Light Horseman’s debut album earned a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album, while the track Deep in Love was nominated for Best American Roots Performance.

More importantly, they’ve lived a big ol’ messy, tangled pile of life, and all that living permeates their music with the wisdom, humour, and depth that underpins their accolades.

At the heart of Bonny Light Horseman is the singular combination of three powerful and tender artists, who expertly dodge superlatives but are quick to acknowledge that their bond makes each one better, braver, and more vulnerable than they’d be alone. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the force of their voices together, which work with complete trust in each other through the gentlest moments and the most ruthless wails.