Beehive Field Recordings: Brittany Haas & Bruce Molsky
This session was captured live during the Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots Festival in Manchester, Vermont this past August. Festival organizers set us up in a beautiful recording studio not far from the event where we captured a series of ensembles with the theme of “creative collaborations” in mind.
This set, featuring two of the most influential fiddlers performing today – Brittany Haas & Bruce Molsky – was a joy to film. Their mutual delight at having time to sit down and play together was infectious.
“Playing with Brittany lights me up so much! We’ve been in each other’s musical subconscious for so long that the music seems to just happen automatically and almost play itself. And having the chance to play together in the middle of the Green Mountain festival when we were all warmed up from the musical reverie around us made this a super-special moment.” – Bruce Molsky
“Bruce has been a gigantic influence on me, more than I can say in words. Thanks to his generosity, many many hours of listening to him, and mirror neurons, I’ve tried to learn how to play just like him. I can get pretty close, but what he does is really special. I love having the chance to sit right there with him, lock in, and let the fingers go.” – Brittany Haas
Each of these tunes was captured in one take. Song notes are courtesy of Bruce Molsky.
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Red Steer, a great square dance piece, was first recorded in the late 1920s by Dyke’s Magic City Trio of Kingsport, Tennessee.
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Lady Hamilton, from at least two of the most respected North Carolina fiddlers Marcus Martin and Manco Sneed, and later by Tommy Magness, might have started it’s life as a Quebecois fiddle tune (or maybe the other way around?)
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John Brown’s Dream, which I learned from Tommy Jarrell when I first met him a very long time ago, is just one of everyone’s favorites. It was hard to stop at the end of this!
Facebook: BrittanyHaasMusic
Instagram: @BrittFiddle
Be sure to check out Hawktail: HawkTailMusic.com
Brittany’s band with Paul Kowert (bass), Dominick Leslie (mandolin) & Jordan Tice (guitar).
Facebook: BruceMolsky
Instagram: @Bruce_Molsky
Be sure to check out The Mountain Drifters: MountainDrifters.com
Bruce’s trio with Allison de Groot (banjo,) & Stash Wyslouch (guitar).
