Fiddle Summit w/ Alasdair Fraser, host

Lissa Schneckenburger, Brittany Haas, Hanneke Cassel, Deby Benton Grosjean, Laura Risk, Janette Duncan, Ryan McKasson, Natalie Haas, Tristan Clairridge

Come on over for a rousing evening of fiddle magic steeped in talent and tradition: the 23rd annual Freight Fiddle Summit. You'll be in excellent company with host Alasdair Fraser and some of traditional music's most notable players—including Natalie Haas, Lissa Schneckenburger, and Brittany Haas—as they bow, strum, sing, and pluck up a storm tonight.

One of Scotland's leading tradition-bearers, Fiddle Summit host Alasdair Fraser's richly expressive playing transports listeners across a broad musical landscape including haunting laments drawn from the Gaelic tradition, classically styled airs, and raucous dance tunes, all delivered with sincerity, flawless virtuosity, and the sweetest of sounds. Brilliant young cellist Natalie Haas accompanies Alasdair. The duo's award-winning CDs, Fire & Grace and In the Moment, display dazzling teamwork, virtuosic musicianship, and pure love for the driving, dancing rhythms of Scottish fiddle music.

The traditional music of New England can be as warm and comforting as a winter fire or as potent and exhilarating as a summer thunderstorm. Lissa Schneckenburger, a master of both moods, is a winsome, sweet-voiced singer who brings new life to old ballads and a skillful, dynamic fiddler who captures the driving rhythm and carefree joy of dance tunes old and new.

Brittany Haas is a five string fiddle player from Northern California currently residing in Boston. A member of the alternative bluegrass band, Crooked Still, and all-girl indie old-time band The Fundies, she has toured the world with groups such as Darol Anger's Republic of Strings, Yonder Mountain String Band, and The Waybacks, and she played fiddle on Steve Martin's Grammy Award-winning CD, The Crow. In 2004 she released her debut self-titled solo album, produced by Darol Anger, and will soon release an album with hardanger (Norwegian 9-string) fiddler and composer Dan Trueman.