Julia Lane has loved, sung, researched and created folk music since childhood. Fascinated by the stories embodied in the folk songs she heard, she learned to sing the evocative melodies, making up her own songs for her own entertainment. As an adolescent, she studied music theory and took guitar lessons from a lutenist specializing in Elizabethan songs. In researching the sources of the music, the wealth of lore and history recorded in musical form rekindled her interest in the music of her childhood. She became active in madrigal and Renaissance music groups as well as performing as a soloist and providing music for a children's theater group. In addition , she was inspired by the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien and his sources. She composed her first melody for one of his 'songs' when she was fifteen and has since completed ten more. After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1974, her interest in English and Scottish folk music and lore led her to study in Oxford, England.

She is a self-taught player of the "clarsach" or Celtic folk harp which she began in 1989. As a result of her classic guitar training, she plays in the ancient method using her fingernails which gives a bright , clean sound. Her unique style has won three international competitions. Judge/harpist Kim Robertson praised her "innovative arrangements and energetic performance" and harpist Dennis Doyle declared "she really captured the spirit of the music". Julia Lane is also an exceptional vocalist, "one the Maine coast's foremost voices", whose voice has been called "lovely, vibrant", "reminiscent of Jean Redpath" , and compared favorably with Loreena McKennitt, Triona ni Dhonaill, and Judy Collins.

Julia Lane's family has lived in Maine for 300 years and the heritage and history of her Maine ancestors has also proved a source of inspiration. Several songs specifically depict local stories and characters as well as expressing the timeless beauty of the area. She currently is bringing together her two major fields of interest by researching Scottish music which has come to Maine, particularly from the Galloway region of Scotland. Together with partner, FredGosbee, she is composing an extended work to be called "The Galloway Suite", celebrating the connections between the two areas. They have been invited to perform it, as well as the Scottish/ Maine songs they have collected, with a community musical group in Scotland as part of a celebration for the new millenium in October 2000.

Julia Lane's recordings include both original and traditional music/lyrics, and all arrangements are original. Since 1985, she has recorded five albums with the group Castlebay, two with partner Fred Gosbee, two solo, and has appeared as a guest on recordings on both sides of the Atlantic.

In the past ten years, she has toured the Eastern U.S., Ireland, England and Scotland playing at festivals, folk clubs, and arts centers, as well as on radio and television. Julia has training in early childhood education and children's theatre and has taught history and social studies through folk music in both formal and informal settings. She is raising three children and is an avid gardener.

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