Chris and Lorin were born and raised near Boston, Massachusetts where their older brother Peter was already making a name for himself as part of Earth Opera and Old And In The Way.  All three brothers played in folk, bluegrass and pop bands.  In the early ‘70s, Chris and Lorin got hooked up with aspiring producer and instrumental wizard David Grisman.  Before long, Chris and Lorin, along with Grisman, moved to “where it was happening.”  One of the brother’s first gigs in the Bay Area was opening for the Grateful Dead at the closing of the Fillmore West in 1971. Shortly thereafter David Geffen (Asylum) signed the talented singer/songwriters and they recorded the The Rowans Brothers album on Columbia - produced by Grisman under the name of David Diadem. Musicians appearing on the album included drum legend Jim Keltner, Grisman, and the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia and Bill Kreutzmann. 

Afterwards David Geffen signed the brothers (now with Peter as part of the group) to Asylum.  With Peter in tow they changed their moniker to simply The Rowans.  They recorded three albums; The Rowans,  Sibling Rivalry, Jubilation.  Peter eventually went back to his bluegrass roots and Chris and Lorin continued for a while as The Rowans before venturing into some different musical areas.  But, periodically throughout the years, Chris, Lorin, and Peter would play as The Rowans. In 1999 they released the bluegrass-based Tree On the Hill (Sugar Hill Records) and in 2003 Crazy People (Evangeline). 

Now, Chris and Lorin have come full circle with the release of their latest album Now and Then (BOS Music). The two-CD set contains 34 genre-jumping tracks.  Disc one features 17 newly recorded songs that are laced with tight harmonies, haunting melodies and underscored by crisp guitar, mandolin and steel guitar picking. They offer a versatile and exciting mixture of bluegrass-flavored folk and Everly Brothers style rock and country.  Contrasting the new tracks are the 17 vintage cuts (all previously unreleased in the US and making their debut on CD).  These archival tracks date from the duo’s early 70s pop-rock forays with David Grisman. The album features an impressive cast of backing players including: Hal Blaine, Jerry Garcia, Richard Greene, David Grisman, Jim Keltner, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Peter Rowan, Mookie Siegel (David Nelson Band), Barry Sless (David Nelson Band), and many more.

Several of the Rowans’ songs have been recorded by national artists ranging from Jefferson Starship to the title track of country artist Ricky Skaggs' Grammy Award winning CD "Soldier of the Cross", written by Lorin. 

The Rowans have appeared at The Kerrville Folk Fest, TX, and Telluride Music Festival, toured extensively as The Rowan Brothers (sometimes with brother, Peter) in the U.S. Europe, and Japan. They’ve performed on shows with Shawn Colvin, James Taylor, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Randy Travis, Alison Krauss, Nanci Griffith and others, as well as on National Public Radio's Garrison Keilor's Prairie Home Companion.  And, they’ve performed with Phil Lesh as members of Phil Lesh & The Hepcats’ with Lorin on lead guitar/vocals and Chris on acoustic rhythm guitar/vocals.

In 2003, Chris and Lorin played the featured actor/musician roles of brothers Cal and Fred Maddox, in the world premiere of the musical play ‘The Maddox Brothers and Rose’ (Sprekels Theatre/Performance Center of the Arts); the story of one of country music’s most popular earliest bands to mix country with rockabilly.

Since then, The Rowan Brothers (Chris and Lorin) have been touring and renewing a musical journey that began three decades ago presenting an intriguing blend of “Now and Then.”