Sophie Wellington is an old time fiddler, jazz singer, and percussive dancer. Originally from the Shenandoah Valley, they studied vocal jazz performance and American roots music at Berklee College of Music. They became a fixture of the New England Old Time scene by co-leading a weekly old time session with Zach Meyer, along with forming their old time fusion string band Dumpster Debbie. Whether they're weaving their voice through lavish jazz melodies and harmonies, driving fiddle tunes with their high energy bowing, or flatfooting Southern Appalachian rhythms, Sophie invites audiences on a sophisticated and energetic musical adventure.

Maddie Witler is a musician currently living in Baltimore, MD.  Known mostly for her mandolin playing, she can make meaningful and impressive music on a variety of string instruments. While she has been accused (maybe rightly so) of being a “shredder” at times, it is her ability to find the gaps in music, and leave space when needed, that gives her a subtle yet deliberate presence in any musical situation. With a deep knowledge and respect for bluegrass, and an awareness of the world and music she grew up around, she synthesizes a sound true to herself, at once traditional and contemporary.

Like nearly every cultural phenomenon that has been deemed “American,” traditional American folk was woven from the diverse assortment of cultures that intermingled in the United States. For Miriam Hacksaw, old-time music isn’t merely an old, stagnant genre to be studied (although she’s done plenty of that), but a cultural tradition that can be continued and expanded upon. By combining her lived experience as a trans woman of color with her Malayali heritage, her background in punk rock, and her extensive knowledge of the American songbook, Hacksaw creates music that is timeless and familiar, yet uniquely her own.

It's drag. It's old time. It's drag old time. 

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Tradwife Stringband is a new quintet offering a respite from our worrisome, troublesome, modernsome world with some good old fashion fiddle tunes, songs, and values. Come lay down your burdens and kick up your heels with the old time stylings of Doreen Ditties, Muffins Debrief, Mrs. Mandy Lynn, Madge, and Moose!

The Ranzo Boys -- Lafayette Matthews (he/him), Jules Peiperl (they/them), and Lindsey Smith (they/she) -- are traditional folk singers putting the queerness back into maritime and folk music. Formed in NYC in 2020, they have performed at the Connecticut Sea Music Festival, the Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival, NEFFA, and the South Street Seaport Museum, and recorded eight songs for public radio later broadcast as a national NPR special. Listen for buzzy English harmonies, Appalachian ballads, sea chanteys, droney instrumental backing, and any song that can be remotely construed as queer.

Nobody’s Business is a contra dance band from Boston and Seattle, featuring Hayden Stern (Natterjack, Orb Weavers) on fiddle, Casey Murray (Northwoods, Corner House) on cello, and Helen Kuhar (Dearest Dear, Good Company, Ice Cream Truckers) on guitar. This up and coming trio of seasoned musicians draws from an eclectic mix of musical traditions. Between driving guitar, soulful cello, and ecstatic fiddle playing, you may ask, “how do they create a lush, effortless groove that keeps dancers entranced on the dance floor?” The answer is… it’s Nobody’s Business.

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