Laura Byrne

Laura Byrne is widely respected on both sides of the Atlantic for her artistry on the Irish traditional flute and whistle. A native of Vermont, she began flute studies at age nine and earned dual bachelor’s degrees in flute performance and music education at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore in 1995. Though classically trained, Laura devoted her career to Irish traditional music and is among the rare musicians to successfully crossover from another genre into Irish traditional music.

Her playing is deeply rooted in the older generation of Irish flute players, informed by numerous trips to Ireland and close study of Irish emigrant musicians in the U.S. She counts among her mentors and influences Mike Rafferty, Catherine McEvoy, Matt Molloy, and Billy McComiskey. Through this direct lineage and her devotion to preserving and teaching the tradition, Laura has become a central figure in Maryland’s vibrant Irish music community.

Laura has performed and taught at major venues and festivals across the U.S., Canada, and Ireland, including The Kennedy Center, The Birchmere, Rams Head, Catskills Irish Arts Week, MadWeek, the Dublin and Cleveland Irish Festivals, the Richmond Folk Festival, Boston College, NYU, and Goucher College. She performed at the Fleadh Cheoil in Cavan, Ireland in 2012 and appeared with the choir Libera at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., in a PBS-aired production. A three-time champion at the North American eastern Fleadh, she has also been featured in the Emmy-nominated Christmas with Choral Arts and on the Eva Cassidy remix album Wonderful World.

Her discography includes the solo albums Tune for the Road (2005) and Lucky Day (2010), Crabs in the Skillet with the Old Bay Ceili Band (2011), and Forget Me Not with fiddler Rose Flanagan (2014).

Laura received the Maryland Traditions Master Award in Irish flute in 2012 and is a two-time recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council grant for solo performance. A versatile collaborator, she performs often with Billy McComiskey, Donna Long, Joanna Clare, Rose Flanagan, and Jim Eagan, and has shared the stage with many other great masters of the tradition including James Kelly, Mick Moloney, Liz Carroll, Pauline and Kathleen Conneely and Patrick Ourceau. Laura is also a member of Across the Harbor, a Baltimore-based crossover project where she collaborates with The Honey Dewdrops, Caleb Stine, Letitia Van Sant, and Charm City Junction, blending Irish traditions with American roots music.

Laura founded the annual Baltimore Irish Trad Fest in 2011 and “moonlights” as a top-producing Realtor in central Maryland. She resides in Towson, Maryland with her husband, two Labrador retrievers and a cat.