Avi & Celia

Lore & Background

Avi Salloway and Celia Woodsmith met during their first week of first year at the University of Vermont in 2003. They began performing as a duo in Burlington, Vermont, quickly gaining a fan base in the Northeast. In 2007 they released their debut EP Off the Floor, and after graduating from UVM they moved to Boston, Massachusetts to continue a professional music career. Their second full-length record, Let It Rise, was released in 2008 and recorded at WERS studios, the radio station at Emerson College.

The duo is known for high-energy performances; the Boston Globe described their sound as 'Sexy roots swagger with populist fire.' They have played over 400 shows across the United States and Canada, building a loyal fan base, and have received praise from Yankee Magazine, the Boston Globe, and NHPR. They have performed at festivals and venues including the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, The Iron Horse, Champlain Valley Folk Festival, Club Passim, Festival Mémoire et Racines in Joliette, Quebec, The Paradise, Higher Ground, and Great Waters Music Festival.

From 2009 to 2011, Avi and Celia performed in the Northeast with their band Hey Mama, a quartet featuring Paul Chase on bass and Jared Seabrook on drums, before disbanding. Celia Woodsmith is currently a vocalist for the bluegrass quintet Della Mae.

Reader's Guide

Avi & Celia represent a notable act in the Americana scene of the late 2000s, emerging from the vibrant music community of Burlington, Vermont, and later Boston, Massachusetts. Their significance lies in their grassroots rise, building a regional fan base through extensive touring—over 400 shows in the United States and Canada—and earning recognition from regional publications such as Yankee Magazine and the Boston Globe. Their high-energy performances and distinctive sound, characterized as 'sexy roots swagger with populist fire,' helped them secure opening slots for prominent acts like Taj Mahal, Leon Russell, and Big Brother and the Holding Company. The duo's two releases, Off the Floor (2007) and Let It Rise (2008), the latter recorded at WERS studios, document their early output. Their legacy includes the formation of the short-lived band Hey Mama and Celia Woodsmith's subsequent role as vocalist for the bluegrass quintet Della Mae, indicating the duo's influence on later projects. While their active period as a duo was brief, their contributions to the Northeast Americana circuit and their ability to draw praise from multiple media outlets underscore their place in the regional music history.

Did You Know?

• Avi & Celia met at the University of Vermont during their first week of first year in 2003.
• Their second record, Let It Rise, was recorded at WERS studios, the radio station at Emerson College.
• Celia Woodsmith is currently a vocalist for the bluegrass quintet Della Mae.

Origins & Formation

Avi Salloway and Celia Woodsmith first crossed paths during their opening week as freshmen at the University of Vermont in 2003. What began as two new students in Burlington, Vermont, quickly evolved into a musical partnership. The pair started performing together as a duo in the Burlington area and, within a short span, cultivated a devoted following across the Northeast. Their early years were defined by a grassroots approach—building an audience one local show at a time before ever stepping into a major studio. After graduating from UVM, the duo made the move to Boston, Massachusetts, in order to pursue music as a full-time professional endeavor. This relocation marked a pivotal shift from the college-town scene to the broader New England music landscape, setting the stage for the recordings and touring that would follow in the years ahead.

Recordings & Studio Work

Avi & Celia released their debut EP, Off The Floor, in 2007, a project that crystallized the sound they had been honing on the Burlington stage. The following year, 2008, saw the arrival of their second full-length record, Let It Rise. That album was tracked at WERS studios, the well-known radio station housed at Emerson College in Boston, giving the project a distinctly local production pedigree. The step from EP to full-length album reflected both growing confidence in their songwriting and a deepening commitment to the craft. Their instrumentation—Avi handling acoustic and electric guitar, harmonica, and lead vocals, while Celia contributed vocals, acoustic guitar, and washboard—gave the recordings a textured, roots-driven character. The duo's two studio releases, though modest in number, anchored a body of work that earned recognition from publications including Yankee Magazine, the Boston Globe, and NHPR, cementing their place in the New England Americana scene.

Live Performance & Touring

The Boston Globe captured the duo's stage presence with the phrase "Sexy roots swagger with populist fire," a description that aptly summarizes what audiences experienced across more than 400 live shows throughout the United States and Canada. Avi & Celia built their reputation not in a studio but on stage, earning a loyal following through relentless touring. Their high-energy performances drew them into the company of major acts; they shared bills with and supported artists such as Taj Mahal, Leon Russell, and Big Brother and the Holding Company. Their festival circuit spanned a wide geographic and musical range, including the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, the Champlain Valley Folk Festival, Club Passim, the Great Waters Music Festival, and Festival Mémoire et Racines in Joliette, Quebec. Venues like The Iron Horse, The Paradise, and Higher Ground further illustrate the breadth of their live work. Praise from outlets like Yankee Magazine, the Boston Globe, and NHPR underscored that their touring footprint translated into critical respect well beyond the Northeast.

Life Beyond the Duo

After their run as a duo, both Salloway and Woodsmith continued to explore new musical configurations. In 2009, the two launched Hey Mama, a quartet that added Paul Chase on bass and Jared Seabrook on drums to their existing guitar-and-vocals foundation. The band performed across the Northeast for approximately two years before disbanding, allowing each member to pursue separate creative directions. Celia Woodsmith went on to join Della Mae, a popular bluegrass quintet, where she contributes as a vocalist. This transition highlights the breadth of her musical range, moving from the Americana duo sound into the high-octane world of bluegrass. Avi Salloway, meanwhile, moved on to his own new projects following the end of Hey Mama. The duo's chapter may have closed, but the individual trajectories of Salloway and Woodsmith demonstrate that their formative partnership in Burlington and Boston served as a springboard rather than a final destination.

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