The Bluegrass Situation Presents: A St. Patrick's Festival

Jake Blount is an award-winning banjoist, fiddler, singer, and ethnomusicologist based in Providence, RI. He is half of the internationally touring duo Tui, a 2020 Strathmore artist in residence, and a board member of Bluegrass Pride. He is a 2020 recipient of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize. Blount specializes in the music of Black communities in the southeastern United States, and in the regional style of the Finger Lakes.

Photo credit: Michelle Lotker

Named one of Dance magazine's "25 to Watch," Nic Gareiss (he/they) has been hailed by the New York Times for his "dexterous melding of Irish and Appalachian dance" and called "the most inventive and expressive step dancer on the scene” by the Boston Herald. He reimagines movement as a musical practice, recasting dance as a medium that appeals to both eyes and ears. Gareiss engages many percussive dance traditions, weaving together a dance technique facilitating his love of improvisation, clog, flatfoot and step dance footwork vocabulary, and musical collaboration. In 2020 Gareiss received the Michigan Heritage Award, the state's highest distinction bestowed on traditional artists. He has performed in sixteen countries at venues including London's Barbican Centre, the Irish National Concert Hall, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Kennedy Center.

Allison de Groot draws on a love for old-time and traditional music, and with a creative approach to the banjo, has formed her own sound—unique and full of personality. Her collaborations with Tatiana Hargreaves, Bruce Molsky’s trio Molsky's Mountain Drifters, and Nic Gareiss provide spaces to explore the role and dimensions of clawhammer banjo. She has performed at events including the Newport Folk Festival, Celtic Connections, Rockygrass, Hardly Strictly, Winnipeg Folk Festival, and Tønder Festival. 

Over the past decade, Tatiana Hargreaves has been on the forefront of an up and coming generation of old-time, bluegrass, and new acoustic musicians. From placing first at the Clifftop Appalachian Fiddle Contest, to her bluegrass fiddling on Laurie Lewis’ Grammy Award-nominated album The Hazel And Alice Sessions, Hargreaves shows a musical fluency that flows between old-time and bluegrass worlds with ease. She has toured with musicians including Dave Rawlings, Gillian Welch, Laurie Lewis, Darol Anger, Bruce Molsky, and Jake Blount. She currently tours with banjo extraordinaire Allison de Groot and teaches bluegrass fiddle at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

A multi-instrumentalist whose performances typically include banjo, fiddle, guitar, bajo sexto (Mexican twelve-string bass) and kaval (Balkan end blown flute), Tim Eriksen has contributed extensively to films including Cold Mountain, in which he worked closely with Jack White, Ralph Stanley and Nicole Kidman. His song “I Wish the Wars Were All Over” was chosen by Joan Baez to be her final recorded musical statement and has been covered by a wide range of artists including Tony-winner Ramin Karimloo. He has recorded with artists including Afro-Cuban pianist Omar Sosa (on the twice Grammy nominated Across the Divide) and English musician Eliza Carthy, and made his Carnegie Hall debut as a soloist in composer Evan Chambers’ symphonic song cycle The Old Burying Ground.

The Ebony Hillbillies started out as an NYC street corner phenomenon, but their vibe and influence has extended over the years to acclaimed live performances at legendary venues like Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center; appearances on the BBC, Good Morning America, NBC, and CBS; international music workshops and festivals; visual artist collaborations at museums (including the Whitney with phenom Kara Walker and the Smithsonian Museum); guest school programs; foot stomping and hand-clapping dance parties; and more. While formed in the digital era, they have sold thousands of hard copies of their four CDs—Sabrina’s Holiday (2004), I Thought You Knew (2005), Barefoot and Flying (2005) and Slappin’ A Rabbit – Live! (2015)—at their shows and via their globally popular website. The Ebony Hillbillies are currently in the studio working on their next project.