Artist Category: Bluegrass

Bronwyn Keith-Hynes

Grammy-winning fiddle virtuoso Bronwyn Keith-Hynes is stepping into the spotlight. After several years of wowing audiences as the fiddler for Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, the 2x IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year is striking out on her own – fronting a band for the first time and bringing her voice to the forefront. Known for her fiery fiddle playing and pure, rootsy singing, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes’ debut vocal album ‘I Built A World’ earned her a Grammy nomination this past February, and American Songwriter calls her “a world-class fiddler with a golden voice.”

Now, as her own entry in bluegrass history expands from celebrated instrumentalist to bandleader and front woman, Bronwyn isn’t just crafting a career in the image of genre greats like Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas; she’s bringing them along for the ride. Both Bush and Douglas are featured as players on I Built a World, and they’re not the only of Bronwyn’s musically-inclined pals and heroes to make an appearance on this star studded album. Keith-Hynes’ music blends high octane bluegrass sensibilities with the soul of country and American Roots music. Backed by a powerhouse group of Nashville musicians hand picked from her tight-knit community, Keith-Hynes represents the next generation of top tier bluegrass musicians, who will be appreciated for generations to come.

With a career that has already spanned collaborations with some of the biggest names in acoustic music, Bronwyn is now forging her own path—bringing her undeniable talent to audiences in a whole new way.

Mitch Greenhill

Mitch Greenhill cut his musical eyeteeth at the old Club 47. He has since released 9 albums and 2 books. After joining the family business Folklore Productions (FLi Artists), he represented musicians like Taj Mahal, the Klezmatics and Doc Watson, for whom he produced a Grammy-winning recording. He has composed music and designed sound for regional theaters and on Broadway, and has appeared in a couple of Hollywood movies.

Mitch is delighted to return to Cambridge and to the Passim. And to reunite with James Field, whom he met on their first day of college, on the other side of Harvard Square.

Level Best

Level Best is a traditional bluegrass band, formed seven year ago. Since then, they have played festivals, clubs, and music halls on both Coasts as well as touring Europe and Ireland multiple times. They have recorded three CDs. Level Best shows feature a rousing mix of country and bluegrass gems.

With exciting solo work on fiddle, dobro, mandolin, and banjo, Level Best has that soulful polish, earned with years of playing bluegrass and country music.

Level Best is Lisa Kay Howard Hughes on mandolin, Wally Hughes on fiddle and Dobro, Ed Lick on banjo, Joe Hannabach on bass, and James Field on guitar. Everyone sings. James’s career in bluegrass began many years ago, when he was a member of the Charles River Valley Boys and played many a night at the legendary Club 47, precursor to Passim. With the good fortune to be part of Level Best, it’s a special honor to return to the Passim stage.

Water Street Wranglers

The Water Street Wranglers are an Boston-based Americana band with strong roots in bluegrass and a passion for mixing traditional and contemporary sounds. This quintet mixes driving bluegrass standards with fresh, ear-catching originals in each set, and their signature sound is completed by their 3-part harmony singing. The band features Chandler Harris on lead vocals, Caleb Kibby on mandolin and vocals, Aiden Schnell on guitar and vocals, Alayna Whitkanack on fiddle and vocals, and Wes Shuck on the four string upright bass and the one string Yo-Yo.

Mason Via

When you think about the current popularity rising around bluegrass and its culture, for years the conversation has at length been dominated by the steel-driving break out stories of Chris Stapleton, then Billy Strings. But who is the next pioneer to represent an untapped demographic well? Many Nashville legends would suggest; Grammy-nominated artist, Mason Via.

Since Via’s original album release with Mountain Fever Records, New Horizons, he has taken the bluegrass and americana scenes by storm. He was listed by NPR as one of the top 10 bluegrass artists thriving in modern Nashville. In the past three years, he has been touring as the youngest member of Old Crow Medicine Show, guitar-picking, singing, and songwriting on their newest Grammy-nominated album, Jubilee. His songwriting can also be seen on Molly Tuttle’s recent Grammy-winning album, City of Gold, with “Down Home Dispensary,” and on Del McCoury’s grammy nominated album, Almost Proud, with “Brown Paper Bag.”

Via has toured and performed in 47 of the 50 U.S. states, along with sections of Canada, Ireland, The United Kingdom, and The Netherlands. Some highlights include: Red Rocks, The Grand Ole Opry, The Ryman Auditorium, the O2 Arena in London for C2C Fest, and the Eagles Stadium opening for Luke Combs. During these travels he has shared stage time with the likes of Willie Nelson, Dierks Bentley, Sierra Ferrell, Steve Earle, Turnpike Troubadours, Keb’ Mo’, Margo Price, Amos Lee, Drew Holcomb, Cam, Brittany Spencer, Allison Russell, Shovels & Rope, Jerry Douglas, Gov’t Mule, Mike Gordon of PHISH, and many more.

Patrick M’Gonigle

Patrick M’Gonigle began playing violin at the age of 7 in Vancouver, British Columbia. He studied classically with Suzuki-trained violin teacher Yasuko Eastman in Victoria, BC and during this time won several awards for his classical music as both a soloist and member of several String Quartets and small ensembles.

After several years of touring in Canada with an acoustic dance band, Patrick moved to Boston in 2008 to study at the Berklee College of Music. Upon graduation in 2013, he immediately began a Masters degree in Music from the New England Conservatory, graduating Summa Cum Lauda in 2015 with a performance degree from the Contemporary Improvisation department. In 2012 Patrick formed the Lonely Heartstring Band, a modern acoustic string-band quintet. Since 2012, the band has released an acclaimed record, “Deep Waters” on Rounder Records with a second album “Smoke and Ashes” released in early winter, 2019. In 2015, the Lonely Heartstring Band was awarded a “Momentum Award” of “Best New Band” by the International Bluegass Music Association (IBMA) and in both 2016 and 2017, the group was nominated for the IBMA award for “Emerging Artist of the Year”.

Ethan Setiawan & Fine Ground

Ethan Setiawan & Fine Ground is visually a bluegrass band. Born of a yearning to return to bluegrass roots, Fine Ground takes time-honored traditions and imbues them with original tunes and exceptional songwriting. The band includes Setiawan on mandolin, BB Bowness on banjo, Julian Pinelli on fiddle, Alex Rubin on guitar, and Brittany Karlson on bass. Setiawan has won both the National Mandolin Championship and the Rockygrass Mandolin Championship. On his 2023 album “Gambit”, which was produced by legendary fiddle player Darol Anger, he moves aptly between stylistic influences, harkening back to the experimental string band music pioneered in the early 80s while presenting entirely original compositions.

Stash Wyslouch

Stash Wyslouch has been teaching, recording and performing music for the past 20 years. Stash works primarily as a Bluegrass and Americana guitarist and has a Bachelor’s in Music Performance from Berklee College of Music.

Stash’s teaching style focuses on learning the building blocks of music and developing practical skills to problem solve your own musical riddles. Stash toured for many years in Bluegrass groups The Deadly Gentlemen, Bruce Molsky’s Mountain Drifters and The Jacob Jolliff Band. He has shared the stage with Billy Strings, David Grisman and the Yonder Mountain String Band.

Max Wareham

Max Wareham is a banjo player, songwriter, and author from Boston, MA. He is a member of the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band and was featured on the Grammy-nominated album Calling You from My Mountain.

After two years of touring nationally with Peter, Max recorded his own album, Dagommit!. The album features Chris Eldridge and David Grier on guitar, Laura Orshaw on fiddle, Chris Henry on mandolin, Mike Bub on bass, Larry Atamanuik on snare drum, and guest singer and producer Peter Rowan. Recorded by multi-Grammy winning engineer Sean Sullivan (Molly Tuttle, Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Jerry Douglas), Wareham’s commitment to early innovators of the instrument shines on this forthcoming record of soulful original songs, highlighted by the hard-driving chemistry of Nashville’s preeminent bluegrass stars.

Max’s interest in history extends to his writing. His first book, “Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five String Banjo” chronicles the life and music of early bluegrass banjo master Rudy Lyle by presenting exhaustive and largely never-before-published transcriptions and analyses of every break Lyle recorded with Bill Monroe, the “father of bluegrass.” Lyle’s historical significance is explored in interviews with banjo legends and members of Rudy’s family. Beautiful portraits of each interviewee are included alongside several never-before-published photos of Lyle himself.

In addition to his work as a banjo player, he has studied jazz guitar performance at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in NYC, written songs for and co-produced the album “Cousin Moon,” played bass with psych-pop outfit Sun Parade, and produced and recorded songs under the alias “Sir Orfeo.”

Old Hat Stringband

Old Hat is a string band based out of Eliot, Maine. Fusing tight vocal harmonies with a lively rhythm and groove section, Old Hat’s sound draws from bluegrass, old time, folk, and country traditions. The band is comprised of Whitney Roy (Guitar, Vocals), Steve Roy (Mandolin, Fiddle, Vocals), Amanda Kowalski (Bass), and Carolyn Kendrick (Fiddle, Vocals).

Whitney Roy’s lilting vocals provide the backbone of Old Hat’s vocal blend, while her solid rhythm guitar anchors the bands rhythm section.

Steve Roy is one of New England’s premier multi-instrumentalists, and has performed and toured with many of the acoustic world’s top acts.

Amanda Kowalski is one of the more sought-after bass players in the worlds of bluegrass and old time music, and her rhythmic drive and energy on stage are second to none.

Carolyn Kendrick is a California-based singer-songwriter, fiddler, guitarist, and producer. After graduating from Berklee College of Music, Kendrick crisscrossed the country with her former duo project The Page Turners. She has also shared the stage with beloved artists such as Bruce Molsky, Margo Price, Aoife O’Donovan, and Darol Anger, all while playing the festival circuit and winning numerous awards.