Old Hat String Band

Based out of Southern Maine, Old Hat fuses tight vocal harmonies with a driving acoustic rhythm section. With a sound draws from folk, old time, bluegrass, and country traditions, the band is comprised of Whitney Roy (Guitar, Vocals), Steve Roy (Mandolin, Fiddle, Vocals), and Amanda Kowalski (Bass).  

Their debut album was released in 2022 and features 10 original compositions by Steve and Whitney Roy.

Whitney’s lilting vocals provide the backbone of the vocal blend, while her solid rhythm guitar anchors the band’s pulse.

Steve is a veteran of New England’s acoustic music scene, and has performed and toured with many of the acoustic world’s top acts.

Amanda 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.

Old Hat has performed on world class stages such as Prescott Park Arts Festival, Ossipee Valley Music Festival, Portsmouth Music Hall, Stone Mountain Arts Center and Wind Gap Bluegrass Festival.

An Evening with Luke Bulla

Luke Bulla has been singing and playing music most of his life. Touring with and singing in his family band from age four, Luke took up the fiddle at seven.

He won the National Fiddle Contest six times in his respective age categories, with his seventh win in the Grand Champion division at age sixteen, making him the youngest to have earned the title at the time. 

Luke has played and recorded with Ricky Skaggs, Lyle Lovett, Brandi Carlile, Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, Bryan Sutton, Kevin Costner & Modern West, Shawn Colvin, Tony Rice, Chris Thile, and Earl Scruggs, to name a few.

Hildaland with Louise Bichan and Ethan Setiawan

Orkney (Scotland) born fiddler Louise Bichan and Indiana (USA) mandolinist Ethan Setiawan present a collaboration and meeting of their musical worlds in Hildaland. A path steeped in the fiddle traditions of their respective sides of the Atlantic, the journey taken wends through Scottish and American soil, celebrating their foundations while intertwining with contemporary composition. Bichan’s fiddle is a melodic foil to Setiawan’s counterpoint and harmonic depth, and the two weave in and out seamlessly.

Setiawan has won such accolades as the 2014 National Mandolin Championship, the 2017 RockyGrass Mandolin Championship and has shared the stage with the likes of Julian Lage, Darrell Scott, Bryan Sutton, Mike Marshall, Tony Trischka, Darol Anger, Casey Driessen, the Steel Wheels, Don Stiernberg, Matt Flinner, and Jacob Jolliff.

Jefferson Hamer is a guitarist, songwriter, traditional musician, and producer. He is best known for his work with The Murphy Beds, a harmony-rich folk duo with Irish musician and songwriter Eamon O’Leary, as well as other collaborations with Anais Mitchell, Sarah Jarosz, Session Americana, and other artists. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Steve Roy is a multi-instrumentalist from Eliot, ME who plays and teaches upright bass, mandolin, fiddle, and ukulele.  He is most often found performing with Old Hat Stringband, though he has previously toured and performed with a variety of other acts, including Laurie Lewis, Molly Tuttle, Joe K. Walsh, David Surette and many others.

For the past few years, Steve and Jefferson have been performing together as members of Dead To The Core: an acoustic celebration of the Grateful Dead.  They bring their shared knowledge of the Dead’s repertoire as well as their backgrounds in traditional acoustic music to their duo performances.

Isabel Oliart & Sammy Wetstein

Friday, January 3rd, 2025
7:00pm

Hailing from Boston, award-winning fiddler Isabel Oliart has been playing the violin since she was 3 years old. She began her musical journey with classical music, and then discovered Scottish and Celtic fiddling through Brian O’Donovan’s show, A Christmas Celtic Sojourn, where she was inspired by artists including Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Hass. She started learning fiddle music for the first time in 2009, taking lessons with Anne Hooper, and has since worked with other world-renowned teachers such as Winifred Horan, Hanneke Cassel and Katie McNally. Isabel studied with Lucy Chapman and Nicholas Kitchen at the New England Conservatory and with Bayla Keyes at Boston University, where she recently achieved her Masters of Music. She now pursues a career in both classical music and Celtic fiddling. Primarily a Scottish fiddler, Isabel also has a love for the fiddle music of Ireland, Cape-Breton, as well as Contra dance music.

Sammy Wetstein grew up as an adventurous string player, existing between the worlds of classical, folk and jazz music. His musical journey led him to Berklee College of Music, where he studied global styles of string playing and works to use music as a means to bridge between communities and bring people together. While playing tunes from his roots in the world of New England contra dance, Sammy explores the worlds of Scandinavian, Bluegrass, Old time, Scottish, Irish, and contemporary fiddle tunes and brings them together with improvisational creativity.

Friday December 20th, 2024
New Brackett Church, Peaks Island, Maine

Hanneke Cassel and Keith Murphy

A seasonally inspired music with virtuosic composers and musicians Hanneke Cassel on fiddle and Newfoundland’s Keith Murphy on guitar. Effervescent and engaging music to celebrate the stark and present beautiful of winter with the warmth and joy that will fill you with gladness.

Learn more about Hanneke and Keith and the links below:

To reserve tickets to a show, please use the contact page to send Ellen a message, she will give you all the details!

Suggested donation is $20.00 per guest. Folks over 80 or under 18 are welcomed free of charge. All proceeds from donations go directly to the musicians. 

Thursday, August 22nd, 2024

Reverie Road
with Winifred Horan, John Williams, Katie Grennan and Utsav Lal

Reverie Road is a fresh, eclectic Celtic supergroup, featuring fiddler Winifred Horan and accordionist John Williams (founding Solas members) alongside former Gaelic Storm fiddler Katie Grennan and Jazz and Raga pianist Utsav Lal (Young Steinway Artist). This powerful combination is made up of four of today’s leading traditional and virtuosic folk artists who have captured the hearts of international audiences from studios to stages over the last three decades. Firmly grounded in their collective Irish roots, Reverie Road embraces humor with musical insight and natural abilities. Original textural adventures weave the roots of Irish musical traditions with new departures and curated gems including distilled airs, continental waltzes, and upbeat reels and jigs. The band chemistry of two accomplished classically-trained fiddlers who share a common history as award winning Irish dancers along with two instrumentalists who have sought to redefine traditional accompaniment and rhythm sections amount to a compelling concert experience that will lift audiences’ hearts and have them on their feet.

For more information, go to:

Friday, August 9th, 7:00pm

The Murphy Beds
Eamon O'Leary & Jefferson Hamer

5th Maine Museum, Peaks Island
Suggested donation $20, free for folks under 18 and over 80

Eamon O’Leary and Jefferson Hamer (aka The Murphy Beds) present traditional and original folk songs with close harmonies and deft instrumental arrangements on bouzouki, guitar, and mandolin. In 2021 they released their second album, titled “Easy Way Down”, which The Irish Echo called “an incredible collection of songs delivered with grace and ease.” They have toured extensively throughout Europe and North America, with performances at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., Alaska Folk Festival, Milwaukee Irish Festival, WGBH Boston’s Celtic Sojourn, Doolin Folk Festival (Ireland), and Unamplifire Festival (London).

Eamon and Jefferson began playing together at traditional music sessions in New York City. They shared an interest in collecting, arranging, and performing songs from Irish, American, Scottish, and English traditions. As they began to collaborate — first in larger ensembles, but most enduringly as a duo — they also recognized an affinity for other more contemporary idioms. Whatever the source — songs of the Irish travelers, Arkansas spirituals, or their own compositions — their arrangements feature the same carefully wrought interplay of voices and strings.

For more information go to: