TSC Booking

You can think about the Burns Sisters in descriptive terms – powerful songs, gorgeous sibling harmony, a distinctive blend of folk, country, and rock styles — but their essence is spirit, soul, if you will. Marie, Jeannie and Annie Burns sing together and their music follows an inner path they know by heart. Every song is tied to the center of things, to the everyday hunt for warmth on a cold planet, to family and history and blood.

The three sisters — Annie, Marie, and Jeannie, have been singing together all their lives. At times others of their siblings joined in. Their mother, Teresa, who sang in the church choir, taught them and so it began.

They are from a family of twelve children brought up Irish Catholic in upstate New York. Their father, the late John Burns, had an impressive career in politics as Democratic State Chairman of New York state, Campaign Manager in NY State for Robert Kennedy’s Presidential race and Mayor of Binghamton, NY. They all grew up in a family culture that believed in standing up for the rights of all people.

They still walk their talk and bring their beliefs into their music. The past five years have been an incredible time for the sisters. They each released highly acclaimed solo projects, and Annie and Marie were also busy producing other artists. The three sisters were committed to writing and producing their latest album Wild Bouquet together. Their latest CD reflects both the personal and global worlds around them. They are concerned with their country and active in the anti-war movement.

They met Arlo Guthrie in 2004 at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Woody’s hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma. This meeting sent them on a train ride with “Arlo Guthrie and Friends Ridin’ on the City of New Orleans - Bringing Back the Music - Benefiting Victims of Katrina.” It reintroduced them to the music of Woody Guthrie and lead them to perform two of Woody’s songs “Vigilante Man” and “God’s Promise” on Wild Bouquet.

The Burns Sisters create not just from the muse, but also from their hearts, souls, and consciences. The result is music that is rich not only in melody, lyrical enjoyment, and import, but also in humanity. Each sister produces the songs they bring to their recordings.

Marie is the soprano and sings high harmony. She loves the old-time sounds of early country and bluegrass and her lyrically thoughtful originals reflect this. Marie plays rhythm mandolin and writes on guitar.

Tallest of the sisters, alto Jeannie loves rhythm and blues, and rock. She sings low harmonies. She plays rhythm acoustic guitar and flat picks a bit in the “closet”.

Annie is the contemporary folkie. She is a second soprano and sings high or low harmonies depending on the song. She writes prolifically using either piano or guitar for accompaniment. She loves to belt out a rock ballad.

The Burns Sisters sing together with the authority and passion of a band that knows it’s place and is comfortable challenging the audience. They present meaning with seamless melodies and amazing vocals. Their music is filled with warmth and conviction.

The Burns Sisters are available as a 4 or 6 piece band. Perfect for festivals, they give can give workshops on harmonies, chord structuring, and song writing.

They spent much of 2009 on the road with Arlo Guthrie's Lost World Tour. Since then they have been seen on the mainstages at Florida Folk Festival, Oklahoma's Woody Fest, and the upcoming Moab Folk Festival. They will hit the road again with Arlo starting mid-June 2010 but dates will be available in December '10 and January '11.

A perfect time for their very popular Holiday Show. The Burns Sisters perform both original and personal favorite holiday pieces. Book early!