Meet The Duo
Delphine Rivers Kirkland
On Vocals
Music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Born in southern South Carolina, I grew up with gospel music in our living room, where my father’s quintet, the Metrotones, rehearsed. Saturday nights meant gospel “singings,” while at home I privately sang along with Soul greats like Sam Cooke, The Temptations, James Brown, and Al Green.
In high school, I discovered Dan Fogelberg and learned every song, syllable, and inflection. I often joke that “Dan taught me to sing.”
At college in North Carolina, I met my future husband, Dave, a lifelong musician who introduced me to Bluegrass and Jazz—and encouraged me to sing in public for the first time. After we moved to Canada, music became part of our everyday lives. I sang backup, recorded, and toured with local performers in Vancouver, Denver, and Los Angeles. We didn’t make it big, but I was hooked.
Years later, while raising our family in Pennsylvania, I discovered Billie Holiday. I fell in love with her voice and began learning her songs, dreaming of a band that could bring the beautiful sounds of early jazz to life. Dave studied Jazz guitar, I immersed myself in jazz standards, and in 2009 we formed Blue Heron.
After Dave passed away in 2013, Blue Heron continued with a new lead guitarist, focusing on jazz and blues and becoming known as a Billie Holiday tribute band. In 2020, after moving to Franklin, North Carolina, I met new musicians and formed Bluejazz, a wonderful dance band.
Still, I longed to return to the jazz standards and vintage sounds of the 1920s and ’30s. That longing became the inspiration for Rosin and Rose.
Marie Klein Dunkle
On Violin
I began violin lessons as a young child in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was classically trained, performing with orchestras and string quartets in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Georgia. But my musical influences have always extended far beyond classical music. I loved watching my parents dance to the great jazz bands and, as a teenager, discovered the Soul and Rock music of the ’60s and ’70s. While at Penn State, hearing Papa John Creach’s electrifying fiddle with Jefferson Airplane inspired me to dream of plugging in my own violin.
After college, while living in Washington, DC, I discovered Celtic music and began exploring the rhythms and fiddle traditions of the British Isles and Appalachia. A decade later, in Georgia, I connected with musicians across many genres, providing recording support for Rock, Blues, and Jazz artists and songwriters throughout the Southeast. I performed with Atlanta-area bands at venues including Eddie’s Attic, the Red Light Café, and Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, while also developing my Country fiddling through shows celebrating the music of Patsy Cline.
In recent years, I helped found the Caledonia Swing Celtic Band and Mountain Muse, performing on violin, mandolin, and cello. I’m especially passionate about improvisation and draw much of my inspiration from the mountains of Georgia and North Carolina. An avid traveler, I take a fiddle or mandolin wherever I go, using music to connect with the land and its people. I’ve made music on five continents.
Now I’m excited to bring all of those influences together in Rosin and Rose, performing with Delphine and exploring the rich musical world of vintage jazz and beyond.