Meet Hannah Alkire of BERTHOUD

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Alkire.

Hannah, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
We were both full-time musicians, but met in 1995. I (Hannah) got a call from a group in Boulder to do studio work, or play cello on their CD. I had them give me directions to the studio from Boulder, because I lived north and west of Boulder and in the middle of nowhere. They were giving me directions, and they came up my country road, and then they turned on my street, and it turned out that across the street from me and 3 houses away was Joe! It was his studio, and he was producing their record. I walked over to his house with my cello and said, “Hi! I’m your neighbor!”

A few years after we met, we found ourselves between full-time musical engagements. Joe called me up, saying he’d always wanted to hear the cello and the guitjo together. He had a feeling the harp-like sound of the guitjo, combined with the warmth of Hannah’s cello, would be beautiful together. So on a snowy day in February 1998, we got together to play for the first time. What happened next was magic. Captivated by the sound of Joe’s 14-string guitar and the cello, we realized there was a lifetime of music in these instruments together. We immediately agreed to clear out our schedules, start rehearsing full-time, and form what would become Acoustic Eidolon.

And of course we look back on that time and it was all Fate, because when Joe got in his van to drive back to his studio (all 3 houses away), he was stuck in my driveway!

Then Fate kept working with us. What started as our musical/business partnership and friendship blossomed into our marriage in 2001. We blended our sons Zach and Alex and became a family. Joe has always joked that this was a marriage of convenience since we were already together all the time anyway! But, anyone watching us perform can tell that the love is real, and weaves throughout the music. Having a musical career that has already spanned decades, and this huge love carrying us through it all, is truly a life beyond what I knew to even imagine back then.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road at ALL. The first year that we started Acoustic Eidolon, we had signed a 5-year, 5-CD record deal with a Texas record label and had just started gathering music to record for the first CD. That December, I (Hannah) was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. What had been an amazing start then turned into 9 months of chemo and radiation and a really big battle. We actually recorded that first CD in the midst of that battle, and it was my absolute lifeline. Music, Joe, and my son Zach were the reasons I kept getting up, kept going, and kept fighting. And thank goodness.

Since then, we’ve each battled various huge battles. Joe has wrestled with a tough hand condition for decades that has jeopardized his playing through the years, and I am now a two-time cancer survivor, from a bout with breast cancer shortly after Covid. We’ve been through so much, and such HUGE times and challenges. And each time, we turn back to the music and each other and lean into what carries us through. As a result, a lot of our music has emerged from some of these hard places, as we’ve been reaching for the silver linings and the next steps and what we’re to learn and emerge with each time. Our music is inspiring to others because I think a lot of people can relate to various parts of our journey, from the bumps in life to the deep-seated gratitude that we get to live this amazing life together, and doing what we absolutely love and are called to do despite all odds.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
The Acoustic Eidolon Experience

To experience an Acoustic Eidolon concert is to expect to be overcome by emotions: upbeat feelings of joy, reflections of all life has to offer, and gratitude to be alive. As a recent fan enthused, “Although I had listened many times to Acoustic Eidolon’s CDs, they hadn’t prepared me for the presence of these two souls–the ease with which they pulled in the audience, the skill they brought to their instruments and the very-much-evident love they have for the process, and for each other. And their musical expertise was beyond easy description–technically perfect but with the added quality of pure passion, as though their instruments were beloved children and each piece a celebration of their deep connection. It’s so rare to find musicians whose performance doesn’t feel canned and highly polished to the point of creating a separation between them and the audience.”

So goes the sentiment often heard by both presenters and audience members following their performances. While Hannah and Joe are masters of their respective instruments, it’s their deep connection to audiences around the world that define, “The Acoustic Eidolon Experience”. Their personal stories for each song and engaging spirit create an evening of sheer entertainment. Whether they are sharing a powerful original composition about Hannah’s grandparent’s house or one of their distinctive covers of popular music such as Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”, this duo delivers.
Their sound, both new and nostalgic, is described as genre-bending. Drawing influences from Celtic, Americana, Folk and Flamenco, it is authentic and passionate. That’s why audiences of all ages and musical tastes consistently rave about this Colorado-based duo.

These are visionary musicians/artists whose original works and arrangements rightly stand out amongst the easily-formatted. Over AE’s career, they have recorded 13 extraordinarily diverse and distinctive CDs, two DVDs, and played to ever-growing audiences on innumerable US and European tours. Each twist and veer marks the turning of a page, another step forward on a truly exceptional musical path.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
We LOVE our people! We have such a loyal fan base, and they join our email list (at acousticeidolon.com) or they join us on any of the social media platforms as @acousticeidolon, and they come to shows or order downloads, sheet music or CDs, and they write to us and basically just are truly that which helps us fly. Our people are the heartbeat of Acoustic Eidolon, and we’d love to meet more and have people join us at our (somewhat rare) Colorado shows! We do a few annual concerts around Colorado, but the rest of the time we’re out of state or out of the country on tour.

So…look us up, come to our YouTube channel at YouTube.com/acousticeidolon, subscribe or like or follow, let your friends know in faraway places as we travel, or just let us know YOUR stories as well. We are so inspired by the human experience, and getting to share our music and stories and receive many stories and connections and beautiful thoughts in return. We truly feel like the luckiest duo in the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://acousticeidolon.com
• Instagram: @acousticeidolon
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acousticeidolon
• Twitter: @acousticeidolon
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/acousticeidolon
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpvbML5fFM4

Image Credits
First image: Photo Credit Paul Franciskato,
Additional photos, in order:
Photo Credit Rob Stuehrk
Photo Credit Mike Reardon
Photo Credit Mike Reardon
Photo Credit Paul Franciskato