Butterflyfish

When Harvard Divinity School professor Matthew Myer Boulton became a new dad four years ago, his life changed in more ways than one. Besides the loss of sleep and the never-ending rounds on the playground circuit, he also started writing about spirituality in an entirely new key. A musical key, that is.

As Matt and his wife Liz started looking around for engaging, inclusive music for their kids on spiritual themes, the idea of a new project began to take shape. And so they teamed up with their close friend Zoë Krohne, a Boston-based vocalist, to form the folk/bluegrass trio Butterflyfish – taking their name from two of the most ancient, delightful spiritual symbols, butterflies and fish.

Before long, upright bass player Zack Hickman was on board, as was guitarist (and singer-songwriter) Mark Erelli and banjo player Charlie Rose. And with Jake Armerding occasionally playing the fiddle, the band was born.

The earliest Butterflyfish songs were written for picnics and backyard play, but as the project gathered a life of its own, the band realized they weren’t just writing songs for their kids, or even just for their own families. They were also writing for people of every age looking for ways to engage the spiritual dimension of life -- and those old, old stories -- in fresh, imaginative new ways.