Haas Kowert Tice asked the question, what if? After forging their own brand of roots music—one grounded in timeless tradition, crafted by top-shelf musicianship, and performed with jubilant comradery—what if this trio of America’s finest string players became a quartet?
Brittany Haas (fiddle), Paul Kowert (bass), and Jordan Tice (guitar) own the sweat equity of a decade spent stoking the fires of their passion project. Haas, whose 2004 self-titled release instantly became the touchstone for a generation of old-time fiddlers, has since lent her sound to Crooked Still, Live From Here, Michael Daves – and David Rawlings, where she plays alongside Kowert, well known as Punch Brothers’ virtuosic bass player. Tice is a rare guitar player whose music showcases his unique identity and a particular knack for tune-writing. Haas Kowert Tice was a special road they could travel together.
Their 2004 album You Got This displays a breadth of acumen and ambition rarely heard on a band’s debut. Norwegian dance rhythms astride traditional Appalachian folk, bluegrass woven progressively into fundamental notions of jazz and chamber music. But for all their success, they found themselves grinding hard through recording sessions for a follow-up record. “I felt like we were missing an element,” says Kowert; “the sound was incomplete.”
Enter Dominick Leslie, the versatile mandolinist whose rhythmic sensibility has made him ubiquitous on the acoustic music scene (Noam Pikelny, The Deadly Gentlemen, Brotet). They had all already known each other for years. The trio wanted the rhythmic backbone he offered, and another plectrum to balance the dueling bows of bass and fiddle. His addition thickens the sound and tightens the groove, opening new creative doors. In short, Leslie is a great fit.
Reborn a foursome, they recut the music for the next album. The release of Unless, in reality Hawktail’s debut, is certain to confirm that this quartet has found its wings. “It feels as though this is now a whole band capable of doing anything,” says Haas.
Cousin Bobby is a tight knit collection of high caliber bluegrass players. A rowdy band of hooligans ready to melt your face with harmonies, licks, and old-time music played like a freight train crashing through your living room. Formed in the smoldering ashes of local folk rockers The Lonesome Draw, this rosé-drenched collective of hardened pickers come prepared to make sure you go home satisfied. We’ll be playing the bluegrass music at our next family reunion.
Nash Reilly – Dobro
Owen Miles – Banjo
Chris D’Amore – Bass
Stephen Boyd – Mandolin
Joe Kenneally – Guitar
Since releasing her first solo album “Started Out To Ramble” in 2009 (produced by Bruce Molsky and featuring Sarah Jarosz, Mark Schatz, Alex Hargreaves, and more), Tatiana Hargreaves has toured with musicians from Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch, to Laurie Lewis, Bruce Molsky, and Darol Anger. From being the second woman to place first at the Clifftop Appalachian Fiddle Contest in 2009 to the 2015 release of an EP with bassist Ethan Jodziewicz featuring traditional and original material performed by the unique duo of bowed bass and fiddle, Tatiana is dedicated to respecting and preserving oldtime and bluegrass traditions while simultaneously seeking her own musical voice and exploring new ways of approaching these styles.
In 2012 and 2013 she attended the Acoustic Music Seminar at the Savannah Music Festival, collaborating with other young acoustic musicians to explore contemporary approaches to traditional American roots genres. In the winter of 2015 she participated in the Dosti Music Project, a State Department funded program that brings together musicians from Pakistan, India and the US for a month of musical diplomacy and collaboration. Early 2016 saw three months of intensive study at La Fundación Alejo Carpentier in Havana, Cuba researching the role of the violin in Cuban music. She is most recently featured on Laurie Lewis’s new release The Hazel And Alice Sessions. Currently, Tatiana is pursuing a degree in ethnomusicology at Hampshire College and researching “the fiddle camp phenomenon.”
Allison de Groot combines love for old-time music, technical skill and a creative approach to the banjo forming her own sound – unique and full of personality. Although firmly rooted in old-time and music, she has shown her ability to collaborate and create outside this genre, pushing the boundaries of the clawhammer banjo.
Allison has toured all over the world with various groups, performing at venues such as Newport Folk Festival, Stockholm Folk Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival and Tønder Festival in Denmark. The music scene in her hometown of Winnipeg, Canada, immersion in Appalachian old-time communities, a performance degree at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and touring extensively throughout North America and Europe have all had a great impact on her playing. She is dedicated to honoring old-time music, the community that music creates and exploring the clawhammer banjo style. She is currently performing with Bruce Molsky’s new project Molsky’s Mountain Drifters and The Goodbye Girls, among others.
Jordan Tice is a musical seeker of the most dedicated sort. Listening to the breadth of his discography, which includes 7 projects as a solo artist and 6 as a founding member of the string band, Hawktail, one will hear this dedication at play. Equally virtuosic as a flatpicker and fingerstylist, and with a casual vocal style, Tice conjures ingredients from far-flung worlds with ease which has earned him glowing press from such outlets as NPR and American Songwriter and taken him to stages such as the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and the Ryman Auditorium.
His performances call upon the repertories of American and British Isles folk, bluegrass, blues and pop-oriented songs, and though his earlier releases are instrumental in focus, he has been carefully honing his craft as a singer-songwriter in his most recent work. This includes his Motivational Speakeasy (produced by Kenneth Pattengale of The Milk Carton Kids) and Badlettsville projects which make it easy to confuse his originals for timeworn chestnuts. Having filled the roles of guitar ace, sideman (w/ Aoife O’Donovan, Andrew Marlin of Watchhouse and David Rawlings), songwriter and student of American music for the better part of his life, Jordan’s songs are enriching for all manner of listeners, from guitar fanatics to more casual fans of Americana music. He delivers performances that are not weighted by any one area of his prowess, allowing listeners to join his world of candor, wit and ineffable facility with comfort.
It’s still as Alan Lomax wrote “folk music in overdrive” but the Resophonics introduce elements frequently lacking in modern bluegrass music – great original songs played with passion, energy and humor that would be as at home in a rock club as on a festival stage. Longtime members Sean Staples, Eric Royer, Tim Kelly and Paul Kochanski combine elements of the traditional string band and the contemporary songwriter to create a unique sound that is rooted in tradition without sounding dated, modern yet with substance. Following over a decade of local shows and international touring that culminated in a Boston Music Award as Outstanding Folk Act, the band went on hiatus in 2010. Tonight they joyfully reunite in the familiar and homey confines of Club Passim for a special show featuring new music as well as songs from their four studio recordings. The Resophonics are back!
NERFA is the northeast regional afiliate of Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org), a Kansas City, MO-based nonprofit organization that seeks to nurture, engage and empower the international folk music community — traditional and contemporary, amateur and professional — through education, advocacy and performance. Our goal is to provide opportunities for our members to network regionally and advance the overall mission of Folk Alliance International to:
- Increase understanding of the rich variety, artistic value, cultural and historical significance, and continuing relevance of folk music among educators, media and the general public. (Education),
- Provide a bridge to and from folk music organizations and needed resources, and to help those organizations link with their constituencies. (Networking),
- Influence decision-makers and resource providers on the national, state, provincial, and local levels — ensuring the growth of folk music. (Advocacy),
- Support and encourage the development of new and existing grassroots folk music organizations. (Field Development),
- Strengthen the effectiveness of folk music organizations by providing professional development opportunities. (Professional Development).
To help accomplish these goals, NERFA holds an annual four-day conference where artists, agents, booking agents, venue and festival promoters, recording industry professionals, graphic artists, folk DJs, journalists, photographers, publicists and production professionals get together to exchange ideas, learn by attending workshops, panel discussions and seminars, participate in an exhibit hall, attend formal showcases of juried performing artists, and go to private and guerilla showcases hosted by performers, agents and promoters. NERFA has expanded its outreach by holding more local one-day conferences within its region, as well as NERFA Showcase concerts at venues around the region and NERFA Presents Young Folk showcases at various festivals in both the U.S. and Canada.
A virtuoso multi-instrumentalist and award winning songwriter with a distinctive voice, Molly has turned the heads of even the most seasoned industry professionals. She began performing on stage when she was 11, and recorded her first album, The Old Apple Tree, at age 13. Since then, she’s appeared on A Prairie Home Companion and at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, was featured on the cover of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, won first place in the prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Competition at Merlefest, and, this fall, received a Momentum Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association in the instrumentalist category. Her lovely voice, impeccable guitar playing, and sensitive song writing make her a star on the rise. She has already received more than two million YouTube views and is currently gearing up to release her first solo EP.
A cocktail of americana that’s behind the times by about 100 years. Formed when four good lookin’ musicians met at a bluegrass jam and wondered what would happen if they threw in some oldtime religion and minor swing. Inspired by a time where blues, jazz, and jugbands were young, the west had just been won, and the country was still gettin’ down to Appalachian murder ballads, yodeling cowboys, hoedowns, sea shanties and medicine shows.
Gin Daisy is:
Jasmine Moran – Guitar, Flute, Bodhrán, Vocals
Bryant Tow – Fiddle, Guitar, Vocals
Mark Stoughton – Mandolin, Guitar, Vocals
Dan Gianotti – Banjo, Tenor Guitar, Tenor Banjo, Vocals
Dave Piper – Bass, Vocals
