Posted: 4/25/06
Concert of American roots music April 27
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Music that is rooted in American folk music and southern American tradition.
Thatís how Bruce Molsky describes the concert that he will give this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Caledonia High School auditorium.
Molsky, 50, will play fiddle, banjo, and guitar songs and tunes. His appearance is sponsored by Caledonia Area Arts. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students.
There will probably be Irish and Scottish songs too, Molsky said on April 13. ìI even play a little Scandinavian and West African music in my shows.î
Plus blues, American folk ballads, and cowboys songs. ìPunctuated with a lot of instrumental stuff,î he added. ìBecause Iím a fiddler.î
Molsky is considered one of the best fiddle players in America. Fiddler Darol Anger has dubbed him, ìThe Rembrandt of Appalachian Fiddling.î
How does he decide what to play for a concert like Caledoniaís? ìI donít play anything that I donít love,î Molsky replied. ìThereís a lot of great music out there. Part of the importance of presenting it right is trying to give people a context. A concert is a body of work. Itís not just a bunch of tunes played one after the other.î
He may even educate people ñ without them knowing it ñ and he hopes they hear something they can hook up with.
Full time musician
Molsky is a mechanical engineer by trade. He tried a one-year experiment of playing music full time. That was 10 years ago, he said with a laugh. Now his engineering certification has expired, and he wonít be renewing it.
The music is going great he said, and he is doing something he greatly enjoys. ìI love the way that it engages me with people,î he explained. ìI love meeting new people. Just like coming to Caledonia, coming to a new place and offering what I have to offer.î
Scheduling is challenging, he said. ìTraveling is grueling, especially touring a different place every day. It can be exhausting, learning to take care of yourself.î
Molsky had just returned from a five-week tour of Australia when we visited. He misses his wife of 23 years, Audrey, and his home in Beacon, New York, during trips like that. But he said he doesnít waste time on the road. ìI like to work every day. Because I like to work anyway. I kind of feel blessed that it is also something that I love. . . I hesitate to call it a job because I like it so much.î
More about Molsky
Here is more about Molsky taken from his website, www.brucemolsky.com.
Molsky has been featured on Garrison Keillorís acclaimed ìA Prairie Home Companionî radio show with Fiddlers 4, Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum, and with Big Hoedown. He has been featured in and occasionally writes for Sing Out!, Fiddler Magazine, Acoustic Guitar, Acoustic Musician, The Old Time Herald and Banjo Newsletter.
Molskyís newest solo recording, Contented Must Be, was released in April 2004. His Poor Manís Troubles (Rounder) won a 2001 ìIndieî award for Best Traditional Folk Recording and has received great praise from the Washington Post, Washington Times, Bluegrass Unlimited and others. Lost Boy (Rounder) and Bruce Molsky & Big Hoedown (Rounder) have become staples for traditional music enthusiasts everywhere.
His band, Fiddlers 4 (Molsky, Darol Anger, Michael Doucet and Rushad Eggleston) was a 2003 Grammy Nominee. He is also a member of Andy Irvineís acclaimed Mozaik (Andy, Bruce, DÛnal Lunny, Nikola Parov and Rens Van Der Zalm. He plays frequently as guest artist with Ellika & Solo, and appears on their newest CD Abaraka! Tack! (released Oct 12, 2005)
Bruce continues to tour extensively as a solo artist. He has performed at Lincoln Center in New York and The Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC. He toured the U.K. with internationally acclaimed fiddler Kevin Burke and others on the Fiddles on Fire tour. Along with Mark OíConnor and Natalie MacMaster, Bruce and was a featured performer at Fiddles of the World in Nova Scotia in 1999. The long list of great players with whom Bruce has worked includes luminaries like Martin Hayes, Mike Seeger, Stuart Duncan, Bill Frisell, Tony McManus and Alasdair Fraser.
Renowned musicians Tommy Jarrell and Albert Hash were two of Bruceís mentors in the Blue Ridge Mountains where he first learned to play. Thanks in part to his time spent with these old masters, Bruce has earned numerous awards at fiddle and banjo contests around the south, including Galax, Virginia; Mount Airy, North Carolina; and the Appalachian String Band Festival in West Virginia.
Bruce is a highly sought-after fiddle and banjo teacher, and teaches his own intensive instrument workshop program all over the United States. He is an instructor at Swannanoa Gathering, Mark OíConnor Fiddle Camp, Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp, Alasdair Fraserís Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddle Camp and others.
Caledonia Argus
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E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com