The nationally recognized Owls are powered by fiddle, guitar, mandolin, piano, accordion, flute, tin whistle, hammer dulcimer and upright bass and give new wing to the exciting sound of the traditional American string band. It's good old-fashioned, toe-tapping, foot-stomping entertainment brought up to date with fresh renditions of time-honored tunes and songs, as well as new compositions that add to the tradition.
Since its inception in 1991, the band's mainstay gig has been playing for a monthly barn dance for the Central Iowa Barn Dance Association in Ames, Iowa. The Owls have also been sighted at coffee houses, concert stages, farmer's markets, weddings, celebrations, Irish ceili dances, TV shows, sound tracks, RAGBRAI (the [Des Moines] Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa), or wherever fresh mouse is on offer... Quite a few Iowans and many in radioland caught the sound of the Owls on NPR's weekly radio show "A Prairie Home Companion" in 2002 during their visit to Ames, Iowa. The barn owl (Tyto alba) is known for sticking to its home territory, and like its namesake, the Barn Owl Band tends to remain home in central Iowa for the majority of its performances, but migrations to cities as far away as Madison, Wisc. are not unheard of.
