Dance, Music, & Song Camps
Sami Braman (she/her) has been playing the fiddle since she was 6 years old, coming up amid the music festivals and jamming communities of the Pacific Northwest’s vibrant traditional Old-Time music scene. At 8 she and her long-time musical buddies Leo Shannon and Riley Calcagno formed The Onlies, which plays at festivals and gigs around the country and whose traditional Old Time sound they further refined in 2016 with the addition of acclaimed folk musician Vivian Leva. They won the Clifftop Traditional Band contest in 2017, and again with John Herrmann and Meredith McIntosh as The Ruglifters in 2019.
Sami is a buoyant, intuitive, and versatile fiddler who values deep understanding of the stories behind the tunes. She now teaches and performs across the U.S. and abroad, primarily with The Onlies and Willie Watson. In her tune-writing, Sami melds creativity with tradition, producing a number of old-time tunes which have made their way into festival sessions across the country. In her teaching, she brings positive engagement and a high standard that encourages and challenges students. Sami recently moved to Nashville, TN, to pursue music full-time. To all her projects Sami brings joyful energy, a driving bow, and an abiding love for the traditional music community which formed her.