The Butterflyfish Backstory

It can be tough to find both kid-approved and parent-approved music for families to share together, especially when those songs seek to explore the heights and depths of faith.  SALT’s very own house band, Butterflyfish, however, has successfully bridged generational and musical divides to bring the world folksy, accessible, thought-provoking music that speaks to all ages, from 2 to 92!

The members of Butterflyfish - Zoë Daggett Krohne, Mattew Myer Boulton, and Elizabeth Myer Boulton - hail from New England and the Midwest, and southern influences also seep through in the group’s bluegrass-meets-gospel style, a reflection of their shared geographical heritage.  Spiritual themes are brought to life through an enchanting collection of original songs, as well as modern versions of long-beloved classics.  A blend of Christian and Jewish stories weave singalong-friendly lyrics, catchy melodies, and vibrant harmony.

The goal of this musical venture is, quite simply, to create music that encourages children, parents, and grandparents to wonder together about the mysteries of life.  We couldn't find music for our own kids that didn't - theologically or musically - drive us batty, and so we pulled together a team of fantastic musicians, including Zach Hickman (of Josh Ritter and Ray LaMontagne fame!), Mark Erelli, and many others.

But don't take our word for it!  Here's music reviewer Stefan Shepherd of Zooglobble.  Stefan is a kid's music connoisseur and children's-music-reviewer-extraordinaire for NPR and Real Simple.

Stefan writes:

"Butterflyfish is the trio of Matthew Myer Boulton, Elizabeth Myer Boulton, and Zoë Krohne who draw inspiration from the music of Dan Zanes and Elizabeth Mitchell in putting together a set of mostly original music celebrating God and faith. Compared to many of the albums on this list, there are probably more songs that explicitly reference God on their two albums, 'Ladybug' and 'Great and Small.' But the musical setting of homespun bluegrass and folk (mostly provided by multi-instrumentalist Zachariah Hickman on the first album and from a quartet of folks including Mark Erelli on the latter) and the gentle lyrics from Matthew Myer Boulton don't trigger my interior Preach Alert System. If I had to pick an album for the newcomer to spin, I'd go with the latter Great and Small, which features some fine songs, like the title track or 'You Be You.' Butterflyfish takes a Dan Zanes approach to kids music - this is as much 'family music' (consciously so) as it is 'kids music.' As they sing, on 'The Old Familiar,' about old hymns, 'those harmonies kept me from harm.' Both albums are recommended for fans of Zanes and Mitchell who probably already subscribe to the view that singing is a force for good in the world and won't mind a Christian spin on that notion."

Finally, SALT's new summer resource - "Sing! Play! Summer!" - is organized around six Butterflyfish originals.  You can check it out here; and have a listen the music here.

Love and banjos!

The SALT Team