Nora Brown @ FREMONT ABBEY

Nora Brown norabrownmusic.com

Nora Brown was introduced to traditional music by chance as a six year old. What her parents assumed would be standard ukulele lessons were an inconspicuous window to the world of old-time music. From his tiny studio apartment in Brooklyn, the late Shlomo Pestcoe, a historian and old-time musician taught Nora old time tunes on the ukulele and through his continued instruction other traditional instruments– the fiddle, mandolin, guitar and banjo.

Nora now plays traditional Appalachian music with a focus on banjo playing from Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee. Along with mentors in the northeast like the late John Cohen she also has traveled and learned directly from master musicians including Alice Gerrard, George Gibson and the late Lee Sexton.

She toured across the US, Europe, and Japan, playing renowned festivals including the Newport Folk Festival, Roskilde Festival, and the Trans-Pecos Festival of Love in Marfa, Texas. She has performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk twice, TED Salon, WNYC’s Dolly Parton’s America and an official showcase at the 2022 Americana Fest in Nashville.

Nora has been interviewed on NPR’s Weekend Edition, WBUR Here and Now and she’s been included on NPR’s All Songs Considered.

Since 2019 she has released four albums on Brooklyn’s own Jalopy Records Label. All records have charted on the Billboard Bluegrass Charts during the first week of release.

The New Yorker called her most recent solo record Long Time To Be Gone - “A disarming collection of traditional laments and exquisite banjo instrumentals”.

Fretboard Journal called her record Sidetrack My Engine - “Some of the most interesting and haunting traditional music we’ve heard... impossibly talented”

She has won numerous banjo and folk song competitions at various fiddlers conventions including the Clifftop Appalachian String Band Music Festival and The Grayson County Old-time and Bluegrass Fiddlers Convention.

Nora performs solo but also frequently as a duo with award winning fiddler Stephanie Coleman.

“If you don’t know Nora Brown, your world is about to change,” — Robert Plant

Support from Sami Braman, Allison de Groot, and Quinn Bachand

samibraman.com | allisondegroot.com | quinnbachand.ca

Sami Braman, Allison de Groot, and Quinn Bachand bring together three distinctive voices in contemporary traditional music, drawing on old-time, bluegrass, Canadian, and American fiddle traditions.

Seattle-raised fiddler Sami Braman grew up in the Pacific Northwest’s old-time music community and has been performing since childhood with The Onlies, winners of the Traditional Band Contest at the Clifftop Appalachian String Band Festival. Now based in Nashville, she tours with Willie Watson and has performed alongside Alison Krauss & Union Station, Watchhouse, Laurie Lewis, Bruce Molsky, Elvis Costello, Darol Anger, and Pharis & Jason Romero. Her playing combines a driving, intuitive approach to old-time fiddle with influences from bluegrass, Cape Breton, Irish, Norwegian, and Québécois traditions.

Winnipeg-born clawhammer banjo player Allison de Groot is one of the leading voices of her generation on the instrument. A recipient of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize for Excellence in Banjo and an Americana Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year nominee, she performs with Tatiana Hargreaves, Nic Gareiss, and the house band of the Transatlantic Sessions. Her duo with Hargreaves earned JUNO and Canadian Folk Music Award recognition for their album Hurricane Clarice, and her playing is known for combining powerful rhythmic drive with melodic subtlety and emotional depth.

Victoria, British Columbia–born multi-instrumentalist Quinn Bachand grew up performing traditional music before touring internationally with Kittel & Co., whose album Chrysalis received a GRAMMY® nomination in 2019. A Berklee College of Music Presidential Scholar, Bachand works as a guitarist, fiddler, producer, and recording artist, moving between acoustic tradition and experimental approaches to arrangement and sound. His collaborations range from traditional musicians like Ashley MacIsaac to artists including Robin Guthrie, Sonic Boom, and His Name Is Alive.

Together, Braman, de Groot, and Bachand approach the music as a living tradition: grounded in the musicians and communities that carried it forward, but open to improvisation and personal interpretation.

@ Fremont Abbey Arts Center

6:30p doors, ~7:30p show

All ages, some seating available (not guaranteed unless reserved seat ticket is purchased)

Abbey Arts Bar offerings at this venue include various non-alcohol options + local beer, wine, cider & select cocktails for 21+, small snacks, etc.  Offerings may vary based on show size & staffing. 

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ABBEY ARTS EVENT INFO:

• Fremont Abbey is ADA accessible on either level.

• For most events we have a mix of padded chairs and standing room.

• Seating is not guaranteed or reserved unless noted.

• To respect the performing artists and your fellow attendees, please refrain from talking during the quieter performances.  Those unable to adhere to this guideline may be asked to leave (no refunds).  

• Please limit photos & video during the show so as to not distract other attendees from the experience.

• Phone and video may be permitted for some shows from the standing area only please.

• No professional cameras or cameras with shutters allowed in the venue

• We are an all ages venue. Kids 10 & under are free at Abbey Arts concerts & arts events unless noted.  Program content may vary, please use your own discretion. 

• Equity & Inclusion - Entering the venue indicates agreement to adhere to the Abbey Respect Policy. www.fremontabbey.org/respect

• Service animals as defined by the ADA are allowed. Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.

• Purchasing a ticket with us indicates sharing your email and we may send you occasional new show listings or other newsletter fun from Abbey Arts. You can opt out easily anytime. For events produced in collaboration with third-party curators or co-promoters, we may share attendee email addresses with those specific partners on events they are curating. We will never sell your email or data.