Just wow. Aoife O’Donovan’s rendition of “All My Friends” with the National Symphony Orchestra is simply gorgeous. The Crooked Still and I’m With Her GRAMMY-winning vocalist delivers an incredible performance, full of heart and spellbinding, timeless melody. Alongside the National Symphony Orchestra, O’Donovan is joined by three choruses from the Washington DC area: Young Artists of America, Children’s Chorus of Washington and Fairfax High School Bel Canto. The resulting sound is an exultant, hymn-like anthem and an absolute triumph.
This is the title track from O’Donovan’s latest album, released earlier this year. Inspired by the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment that gave American women the right to vote, the album is a huge critical success and has earned O’Donovan GRAMMY-nominations for both Best Folk Album and Best American Roots Song. “All My Friends” is the follow-up to the highly-regarded and three-times GRAMMY-nominated 2022 album “Age of Apathy” and is an equally compelling listen, demanding your attention and remaining with you afterwards.
When O’Donovan sings the beautifully-direct lines, “Steady on, America // You Know it’s time to heal,” there’s a unifying hopefulness and uplifting joy that the USA and, indeed, the wider world needs right now.
