County Laois to Burlington

Four sisters.A road of their own.

Sisters Erie began in the rooms and gatherings where a family learns to listen to itself. By 2013, that musical shorthand had carried them from Ireland across the United States.

2008–2010 · County Laois

Before the name became a working band.

The Flynn sisters are from County Laois, Ireland. By 2008 and 2009, they were already learning how to move through a song together at school events, community gatherings, and local functions.

The name Sisters Erie was in use by 2009. In 2010, the sound cohered and the sisters began to think of the act as a real working band. An April appearance at the Laois Music Showcase in Portlaoise put them on a proper bill; the larger breakthrough came in Glasgow the following January.

Map of Ireland's counties with County Laois highlighted near the centre

2011–2012 · A wider room

The moment the songs travelled.

January 2011

Glasgow

The Danny Kyle Open Stage at Celtic Connections was the early milestone that proved Sisters Erie could work beyond local rooms and pub settings. It sent them home thinking seriously about a record.

Spring 2012

The Coming Storm

The band's first EP arrived in spring 2012: a first recorded marker for music that had been taking shape in public for years.

Summer 2012

First U.S. run

A visit to family friend Katie became three shows: Katie's Irish Pub in Burlington, Canoe Club in Hanover, and The Harp in Amherst. Burlington was their first U.S. performance.

September 1–October 4, 2013

Wind & Rain Tour

Nineteen performances carried Sisters Erie from Southern California through the Southwest, Texas, the South, and up the East Coast. The final night brought them back to Katie's—a familiar room, a family friend, and a connection that predated the tour.

Numbered route map of the 2013 Wind and Rain Tour from Los Angeles to Burlington
  1. Los Angeles, CaliforniaO'Brien's
  2. Murrieta, CaliforniaThe Shamrock Irish Pub
  3. Phoenix, ArizonaRosie McCaffrey's Irish Pub
  4. Phoenix, ArizonaTim Finnegan's Irish Restaurant
  5. Glendale, ArizonaPadre Murphy's
  6. Albuquerque, New MexicoTwo Fools Tavern
  7. Santa Fe, New MexicoLoyal Hound Pub
  8. Austin, TexasB.D. Riley's Irish Pub
  9. College Station, TexasMoe's Irish Pub
  10. Mobile, AlabamaLucky Irish Pub & Grill
  11. Asheville, North CarolinaJack of the Wood
  12. Charlottesville, VirginiaTrinity Irish Pub
  13. College Park, MarylandLooney's Pub
  14. Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaBill Murphy's Irish Saloon
  15. Queens (Astoria), New YorkCronin & Phelan's
  16. Colchester, ConnecticutInishmor Pub
  17. Pawtucket, Rhode IslandDoherty's East Ave Irish Pub
  18. West Yarmouth, MassachusettsKeltic Kitchen
  19. Burlington, VermontKatie's Irish Pub · Tour finale

October 4, 2013 · Burlington

The road ended somewhere they already knew.

The final booking brought Sisters Erie back to Katie's Irish Pub. Katie was a Flynn family friend, and the sisters had played her Burlington room before. On October 4, they returned with a longer road behind them.

Meet the sisters

2014 onward

Archive restoration in progress. Later shows, releases, photographs, and stories will be added as the archive is rebuilt.