Jet Bridge is a band of festival friends who come together as an old-time supergroup, making waves in contra and square dancing. We’re so lucky to have them at American Week this year. Not to miss!
Fiddler Sami Braman has been in a band since she was two and is now a fixture in the Nashville music scene. She and her forever-bandmates The Onlies are two years into their tenure as Artistic Directors of the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes.
Playful, melodic, improvisatory, ear-tickling. Stringrays is one of the most popular contra dance bands anywhere. This is their first time altogether as a 5-piece at Pinewoods.
An inimitable dream team, the band brings together five of the most traveled, most appreciated, and most fun (and friendly) dance musicians around a shared interest in exploring great fiddle tunes. Their playing is fueled by a love of the living tradition of New England fiddle music and its cousins.
Annie Kidwell (they/them) is a dancer, contra caller, and choreographer based in Massachusetts. Originally from Louisville, KY, they have traveled from here to there finding their way through west coast swing, blues, contact improv, fusion, and of course, contra dancing. They are well known for their engaging instruction and abilities to create a joyful space for both new and experienced dancers.
Musician. Producer. Sound engineer. Event organizer. Charlie Pilzer is a busy man, always devoting himself to creating award-winning Scandinavian, Celtic, folk, and acoustic music and sharing his love of the traditions with audiences, listeners, and other musicians around the world.
Well known as a dance musician (piano and bass) for New England folk dances, Charlie also has had considerable involvement with Scandinavian music since 1978,
Stuart is a go-to player for bass thump and a distinctive banjo thunk at any contra dance, which he does with the Stringrays, among many other groups.
His long career in several traditional music genres includes cutting his teeth with the legendary Cajun musician Dewey Balfa. He followed that with prodigious output with numerous groups and contra dance bands, including Wild Asparagus, Airdance, Undertoe (with Karen Tweed),
A rhythmic phenomenon all to himself, the Stringrays’ Mark “Pokey” Hellenberg the beating heart of many a dance band since re-establishing the drums in contra dance music in the 1990s.
Mark’s known for a singular presence that packs a wallop, but his playing is sensitive and melodic. Whether playing jazz or accompanying traditional fiddle music, Mark is appreciated for his commitment to energy, fun,
Designated a “Master Fiddler” in 1983 by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Stringrays’ Rodney Miller is widely considered to be the foremost exponent of New England style fiddling, a uniquely American blend of French Canadian and Celtic influences.
Over the past 35 years, he has toured the U.S., British Isles, Australia, and Denmark, performed and taught at hundreds of music and dance festivals, and recorded numerous fiddle albums,
A West Virginia-born multi-instrumentalist residing in the Berkshires, Paula has been involved in old-time and roots music for many years. Known for her strong, spirited vocals, she has toured (on banjo) with old-time darlings “Uncle Earl”; with old-time powerhouse Bruce Molsky (on guitar and banjo uke); and recorded and toured with Tony Trischka and Bruce as part of the acoustic roots trio “Jawbone”. She was also a founding member of the popular New England honkytonk combo (on piano) “Girl Howdy,” and with her late husband,
Michael Karcher got hooked on contra dance and ECD at Swarthmore College and fed his habit at CDNY in New York City. He started calling after moving to Seattle and honed a clear, friendly style over the next decade before returning to the east coast. Michael now calls events across the US and Canada, and dreams of bringing contra dance to Japan and taking contra away from France (just kidding). He helps with the Lehigh Valley contra dance,
Sami Braman (she/her) joins us at American Week, leading the old-time band Jet Bridge. Sami has been playing the fiddle since she was six years old, coming up amid the music festivals and jamming communities of the Pacific Northwest’s vibrant traditional Old-Time music scene under the instruction of fiddle tradition-bearer Ruthie Dornfeld.
Along with her childhood friends, she founded the acclaimed group The Onlies. The band won first place at the Clifftop Appalachian Stringband Festival in 2017,
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