The Barrowdowns

Diverse instrumentation and soaring five-part vocal harmonies characterize the unique alternative folk sound of Halifax-based band, The Barrowdowns.  Kendra Breen, Rowan Swain, Adam Martin, Dave Fultz, and Neal Read create an eclectic brand of energetic and haunting folk music that is described as “graceful transitions between subtle beauty and organized chaos” - Dillon Anthony, The East Magazine. 

Currently in the studio crafting their follow-up to 2017’s debut album Come What May Come, the band is hard at work planning a spring release, Maritime and Eastern Canadian tours, and single and video releases this winter. 

Receiving nominations for East Coast Music Award Rising Star Recording of the Year and Music Nova Scotia Award Folk Recording of the Year, Come What May Come saw appearances on the !earshot National Top 50 and Folk/Roots/Blues Top 10.  

“When you consider also that it is their debut release it all adds to the magical genius that has combined to make this one of the best releases to come out of the east coast this year, with soundscapes behind tracks that add to the magical carpet ride that you have just undertaken.” — Stevie Connor, Blues and Roots Radio

Twice voted Best Folk Band in their hometown’s Best of Halifax Readers Choice Awards (The Coast: Gold 2017, Bronze 2018), the band has been captivating crowds across the Maritimes in clubs, pubs, theatres, music halls, house shows and weddings since 2014.  With over 125 performances in those short four years, they’ve appeared at festivals like Fredericton’s Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival and Lunenburg’s famous Folk Harbour Festival, and headlined Living Roots Festival in Fredericton, NB and Full Circle Festival in Newport, NS.  In addition to opening for artists like Calliope Musicals (Austin, Texas) Ash Grunwald (Australia), Poor Man’s Whiskey (San Francisco, California), The Jerry Cans (Iqaluit), The Wooden Sky (Toronto), and Shred Kelly (Fernie, BC), they’ve also performed their own songs with the 160-member Halifax Music Co-Op Orchestra and Choir as part of their Inventions 2017 concert series. 

With “stunningly beautiful vocals and melodies, haunting fragile beauty, and frantic moments that kind of jump out here and there” (Jeff Liberty, CBC) wrapped up in gripping songs that stick with you long after the last chord has rung out, The Barrowdowns create music that will keep you spellbound—even while you stomp your feet.