Tony Trischka’s Holiday Show! – Featuring Tim Eriksen, with Jared Engel, Hannah Read, and Sean Trischka

Tony Trischka hosts a banjo-driven celebration of the season, where he unleashes his considerable melodic inventiveness on Bluegrass and Americana music for the holidays! Featuring fellow longtime cohort musician, Tim Eriksen, and world-class Santa impersonators and musicians Jared Engel, Hannah Read, and Sean Trischka. A diverse, highly textural seasonal collection, Trischka also revels in songs long forgotten and little known.  Truly a sumptuous feast for the ears, presented as only Tony Trischka can.

TONY TRISCHKA

tonytrischka.com

Tony Trischka is a Grammy-nominated banjo player, songwriter, and educator. He is considered one of the pioneers of progressive bluegrass music. Trischka has released over 30 albums and has won numerous awards, including the International Bluegrass Music Award for Banjo Player of the Year in 2007. He is also a prolific teacher and has written several books and DVDs on banjo playing.

Trischka was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1949. He began playing the banjo at the age of 12 and quickly became a proficient player. In the early 1970s, he moved to New York City and began playing with some of the leading figures in the bluegrass scene, including Béla Fleck and Steve Martin.

Trischka is a highly respected figure in the bluegrass world. He is considered one of the most innovative and influential banjo players of all time. His playing style is characterized by its speed, accuracy, and technical virtuosity. He is also known for his innovative use of the banjo, often incorporating elements of jazz, blues, and rock into his playing.

Trischka is a prolific composer and has written hundreds of songs, many of which have become standards in the bluegrass repertoire. He is also a gifted teacher and has written several books and DVDs on banjo playing. He is a popular workshop clinician and has taught at many music festivals around the world.

Trischka is a true master of the banjo and his playing has inspired countless other musicians. He is a pioneer of progressive bluegrass music and his work has helped to expand the boundaries of the genre. He is a true legend of bluegrass music and his legacy will continue to inspire musicians for generations to come.

TIM ERIKSEN
timeriksenmusic.com

Tim Eriksen is acclaimed for transforming American tradition with his startling interpretations of old ballads, love songs, shape-note gospel, and dance tunes from New England and Southern Appalachia. He combines hair-raising vocals with inventive accompaniment on banjo, fiddle, guitar and bajo sexto - a twelve string Mexican acoustic bass - creating a distinctive hardcore Americana sound.

Tim Eriksen is a three-time GRAMMY-nominated artist renowned for his transformative interpretations of American traditional music, blending ballads, shape-note gospel, and Southern Appalachian tunes with innovative banjo, fiddle, guitar, and bajo sexto accompaniment. As a leader in Hardcore Americana and world music, he has pioneered the revival of shape-note singing through his work with the punk-folk band Cordelia's Dad, teaching at Dartmouth and the University of Minnesota, and leading workshops worldwide.

An ethnomusicologist with a Ph.D., Eriksen has researched connections between 19th-century music, the Abolitionist movement, and science fiction. He has contributed to films like Cold Mountain and Chrystal, and performed everywhere from Carnegie Hall to CBGB, making his mark across genres and borders.

HANNAH READ
hannahread.com

Hannah Read is an award-winning fiddle and guitar player, songwriter, singer and composer based in Northern California. She grew up in Scotland and regularly performs, records, and tours in a variety of genres on both sides of the Atlantic. 

Involved in a wide range of projects, Hannah is currently working with scientists at Edinburgh University and Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh (The Fungi Sessions) and with Appalachian old-time clawhammer banjo player Michael Starkey (Cross The Rolling Water). In 2025 Hannah will be releasing new solo music and touring in North America with Julien Baker (Boygenius) and TORRES.

Hannah was part of BBC Folk Award-winning Songs of Separation:  a 10-piece female British folk supergroup. The album was recorded on the Isle of Eigg where Hannah spent much of her childhood. This remote island off the west coast of Scotland has a rich musical heritage and nurtured Hannah’s love of landscape and nature. 

Collaborating with other musicians, being playful and creative is where Hannah thrives. She has worked with many notable musicians including bluegrass luminary Tony Trischka, Sarah Jarosz, Julien Baker, Karine Polwart, Lucy Dacus, Sam Reider & The Human Hands, Cassandra Jenkins, Charlie Van Kirk, Lola Kirke, Jacksonport, Nora Brown, Jefferson Hamer, Rowan Rheingans, The Fretless and Tim Eriksen. 

Her debut solo album Way out I’ll Wander (Hudson Records) is a musical fusion of influences combining her Scottish roots and 15 years spent in the musical scene in New York and the Northeast of the US. Hannah is a passionate teacher and has taught at music camps and courses throughout North America, Europe and the UK. Her infectious animating principles of curiosity and adventure runs through all of her work, and she continues to interweave these varied musical experiences from Scotland to California and back again.

JARED ENGEL
jaredengel.com

Jared Engel is a professional musician and 21-year mainstay of the New York City music scene. An accomplished multi-instrumentalist who has appeared on Grammy-nominated recordings, he is frequently seen on subways, sidewalks, and bike paths hauling a combination of instruments that includes upright bass, bass guitar, tuba, 4-string plectrum banjo, and 5-string banjo.

Known for his decade-long tenure as the bassist for both the trad-jazz and bluegrass sessions at Mona’s, a beloved East Village institution, Jared has had the pleasure of recording and performing with acclaimed artists such as Abigail Washburn, David Grisman, Tony Trischka, Kaïa Kater, Béla Fleck, Steve Martin, Naomi & Her Handsome Devils and Stéphane Wrembel. He is a frequent collaborator with artists including Tony Trischka, Sean Kiely, Baby Soda, Aurora Nealand, Mike Davis, and The High Society New Orleans Jazz Band.

He has performed worldwide and locally at many notable jazz venues including The Village Vanguard, The Blue Note, Lincoln Center, Birdland and Barbès. In 2025, Jared made his debut as a filmmaker with the creation of the silent short film Day of the Catch, which tells a true story from baseball lore circa 1915 and features his original score.

SEAN TRISCHKA
seantrischka.com

Playing a wide range of styles, from folk to pop to heavy metal, drummer-singer-songwriter Sean Trischka tours nationally and internationally with many artists, including Carsie Blanton, Oh Pep!, The Stash Band, and Mipso. He has performed with a wide array of musicians including Oteil Burbridge (Dead & Company), Billy Strings, Mike Gordon (Phish), Sarah Jarosz, and members of Lake Street Dive.

Sean has released two albums: The Shuffle (2015) and Of Course! (2018), both to critical acclaim. His upcoming EP, entitled Friendship, will be released in June 2022 with an accompanying video album.