Are you ready for some vocal fireworks for the holidays? 

If you attended the Skye Consort show last fall, you may remember the bell-like soprano of singer Emma Björling. Our audience loved Emma as a solo vocalist, and we are excited to bring her back, this time with her Folk’appella quartet, Kongero. 

Fellow Swedes Lotta Andersson, Anna Larsson, and Anna Wikénius complete this enchanting quartet. Like so many folk groups, Kongero was formed out of a serendipitous meeting at a Nordic music conference. From the moment they began harmonizing, they found that their voices blended perfectly and the name of the band – “spider” in a regional Swedish dialect – reflects this intertwining vocal blend. Kongero’s repertoire consists of traditional and original songs and tunes, spinning tales through love songs, dramatic medieval ballads, witty ditties, and spirited dances. Their music is characterized by tight harmonies, incisive rhythms, and the clarity of their beautiful voices. With confidence, technical skill, irresistible playfulness and brilliant arrangements, they create a unique sound that brings traditional music from past to present. 

Joining Kongero on this double bill are one of the hottest new ensembles of the folk world, the Boston-based mixed quartet Windborne. With a 20-year background studying polyphonic music from around the world, Lauren Breunig, Jeremy Carter-Gordon, Lynn Rowan, and Will Rowan share a vibrant energy onstage with a blending of voices that can only come from decades of friendship alongside dedicated practice. The ensemble shifts effortlessly between drastically different styles of music, drawing their audience along on a journey that spans continents and centuries, illuminating and expanding on the profound power and variation of the human voice.

There’s another crucial dimension to Windborne that guides and anchors their artistry. They are adherents of folk music’s long-time alliance with social activism, labor and civil rights, and other movements that champion the oppressed, the poor, and the disenfranchised. Their songs burst with lyrics that, while penned decades or centuries ago, still ring true in modern times, and Windborne’s dynamic harmonies breathe new life into these songs.