Friday, October 9, 2026 | 7:30 PM | General Admission
With the release of their 2023 album ‘Angels in the Wreckage’ (produced by Dirk Powell), the Vermont-based American Roots band Low Lily brought their infectious sound to a new level. With the energy of fiddle music, the introspective quality of contemporary folk, the precision of bluegrass, and the drive of Americana, the members of the band (Liz Simmons, Flynn Cohen, and Natalie Padilla) combine their individual talents into one stunning soundscape.
Low Lily has shared their signature sound with enthusiastic audiences throughout North America and the UK, garnering two #1 songs on international folk radio, and two Independent Music Award wins. In 2018, the band released a full-length album with the two-time award-winning title track “10,000 Days Like These,” and their original song “Hope Lingers On,” which has been sung by choirs around the world as an anthem for peace and justice.
Born in San Francisco to musician parents, Liz Simmons spent her early childhood traveling through the wilds of north America in a sky blue VW bus. Her parents were itinerant, moving from California to Oregon, then to Ketchikan, AK, where they played regular gigs in pubs for the locals. Once the family settled in rural New Hampshire, Simmons received classical musical training, but soon found her way back to folk music. She received a BA from Goddard College where she studied American vernacular music of the 1920s and 30s. She then went on to found Annalivia and then Low Lily with Flynn Cohen, as well as perform alongside Long Time Courting, Hannah Sanders, EVA, Livingston Taylor, Tom Chapin, and others.
Flynn Cohen, at the age of 11, was drawn to the guitar after an injury left him unable to pursue his passion for sports. When he was in his mid-teens, his aunt and uncle turned him onto the likes of Fairport Convention, Michael Hedges, The Bothy Band, and Pentangle. At the time, all he wanted was to play guitar like John Renbourn of Pentangle; so when the opportunity to study with Renbourn arose at the Dartington College of Arts in England, he jumped at the chance. After graduating from Dartington, he headed to Oakland, CA, to attend Mills College, where he immersed himself in the Irish trad and bluegrass music scenes there. Ultimately, he made his way to the east coast after a phone call with accordion champion John Whelan, who offered him a job as his guitarist. Once in Boston, he was also hired to accompany three incredible fiddle prodigies in their late teens – Laura Cortese, Hanneke Cassel, and Lissa Schneckenburger. Cohen has also accompanied luminaries such as Adrienne Young, Cathie Ryan, Ruth Moody, and many more.
Born into a family of acclaimed roots musicians, Natalie Padilla was immersed in fiddle and violin music at a very young age. She initially studied Texas-style fiddle under the tutelage of her mother, award-winning fiddler Nancy Padilla, and began winning contests on her own at the age of 6. Along with the traditions of Old-Time and Bluegrass Fiddle music, Padilla also has deep roots in classical violin. In 2011, she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Northern Colorado and can still be found sitting in the violin section of an orchestra.
“Low Lily brandishes their formidable individual folk foundations within a collective sound that’s as smart with a sense of pop phrasing and flair as it is roots-savvy.” — Roots Music Report
The Folk in Fredonia Music Series is sponsored by the Gilman Family
