The Rowan Brothers (Chris and Lorin) and Sue Cunningham are presenting a new sound on the acoustic music scene. The trio, working with guitars, mandolin and fiddle are creating unique sounds and exciting performances to appeal to the Bluegrass and Americana Roots genre. 

The Rowan Brothers and Sue first performed together at HickoryFest in August 2008 and immediately they knew that were onto something special. They next played the Magnolia Fest in Live Oak, Florida in October to rave reviews which opened the door for performances at Suwannee Springfest, Gamble Rogers Festival, Huntington Folk Festival, Levon Helm's Ramble among other notable venues.

Chris and Lorin’s soaring sibling harmonies are joined by Sue’s sultry vocals and all are spiced up by her expert newgrass/bluegrass fiddle work. All three are accomplished songwriters and their tunes pulse with originality and passion. They have created a sound which is so full and vibrant that it is hard to believe there are only three musicians on the stage.

Chris and Lorin Rowan were born and raised near Boston, Massachusetts where their brother Peter was already making a name for himself in Earth Opera. All three brothers played in folk, bluegrass and pop bands. In the early ‘70s, through their brother’s connection, Chris and Lorin got hooked up with aspiring producer and instrumental wizard David Grisman. Before long, Chris and Lorin along with Grisman moved to “where it was happening” San Francisco, and they still reside there today.

Throughout the years Chris and Lorin and occasionally Peter have continued to play as The Rowans. In 1999 they released the bluegrass-based Tree On the Hill (Sugar Hill Records) and in 2003 Crazy People (Evangeline).

The Rowans have appeared at The Kerrville Folk Fest, TX, and Telluride Music Festival, toured extensively as The Rowan Brothers (sometimes with brother, Peter) in the U.S. Europe, and Japan. They’ve performed on shows with Shawn Colvin, James Taylor, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Randy Travis, Alison Krauss, Nanci Griffith and others, as well as on National Public Radio's Garrison Keilor's Prairie Home Companion. More recently the brothers performed with Phil Lesh as members of Phil Lesh & The Hepcats’ with Lorin on lead guitar/vocals and Chris on acoustic rhythm guitar and vocals.

Sue Cunningham was raised in a musical family and has been involved with music since she was five years old. She is also a practicing engineer and holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.  Through her performances and recordings with the international touring band Hickory Project and others, combined with her unique education in classical music, Sue has gained national recognition as a fiddler and fiddle instructor. She was an eight-year member of the South Ocean String Band (West Palm Beach, FL), a former member of the White Sands Panhandle Band (Pensacola, FL), prior to founding Hickory Project in January 2000. She is a three-time Florida Bluegrass Fiddle Champion and has co-written many of the Hickory Project’s songs.

Sue has performed at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, RockyGrass, Magnolia Festival, Suwannee Springfest, Walnut Valley Festival (Winfield, KS), Winterhawk, Augusta Heritage (Bluegrass Week), in addition to many other festivals and important venues across the country.

With her former band Hickory Project, Sue performed with Vassar Clements and their twin fiddles delighted audiences at festivals, concerts, and workshops around the country. In addition to performances in the US, with the Hickory Project she completed two tours of Australia, performed in Ireland on numerous occasions, and completed four tours in Europe.