Sam Sweeney

Sam Sweeney has been called “one of the defining English fiddle players of his generation” (Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2), “Britain’s Premiere fiddler” (Songlines), and “the fiddler with the Midas touch… an English equivalent of the great Irish fiddle player Martin Hayes” (The Guardian). He is a founder and member of the ground-breaking trio Leveret and a veteran of the mighty Bellowhead, in addition to his highly acclaimed solo work. Nominated four times for, and in 2015 winner of, Musician Of The Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Sam has been at the forefront of the revival in English music for the last fifteen years. He is also a passionate and experienced educator, and served as inaugural Artistic Director of the National Youth Folk Ensemble.

Sam’s most recent genre-defying new solo album “Escape That,” is his first entirely self-composed record. It ties together all of Sam’s musical passions; an honest and fearless expression of himself, combining pop hooks and aesthetics with his pioneering work in the world of traditional dance tunes.

Lena Jonsson

In the new generation of contemporary folk music, Lena Jonsson is one of Scandinavia’s most influential fiddlers. Lena’s style is unique in combining her deep knowledge of traditional Swedish folk music and the youthful sounds of rock, pop, jazz, American old-time and bluegrass. Her inspired style earned her a Swedish Grammis nomination for her premier album “Places” (2019), and her follow-up album, ”Stories from the Outside” (2021), won both a Swedish Grammis and the Manifest prize. Lena has performed for Barack Obama as well as Greta Thunberg, and in 2023 her trio won “Artist of the Year” at the Folk and World Music Awards. Lena joined MCMC for a Trad Talk in November 2023, where she shared her thoughts and insights on Scandinavian traditional music, tune-writing, performing and more with her trademark ebullient charm and charisma.  

Brittany Haas

In April 2023, we were joined by Brittany Haas, who is widely regarded as one of the most influential fiddlers of her generation. A prodigious fiddler, she began touring with Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings at the age of fourteen. Among her many projects, she is a member of the quartet Hawktail (featuring bassist Paul Kowert, guitarist Jordan Tice, and mandolinist Dominick Leslie), and in 2023 she joined the Punch Brothers (featuring mandolinist Chris Thile, bassist Paul Kowert, guitarist Chris “Critter” Eldridge and banjo player Noam Pikelny). Our conversation with Brittany ranged from Suzuki violin lessons and youth music camps to Scandinavian music jams in college to performing with internationally acclaimed musical acts like Crooked Still and Hawktail.

Hartwin and Ward Dhoore

We were joined by Belgian musicians Hartwin and Ward Dhoore in March 2022. Hartwin and Ward grew up in a family “where making music was encouraged and folk music was never far away.” Hartwin, Ward and their brother Koen for several years comprised Trio Dhoore, an acclaimed Belgian “new trad” trio. Trio Dhoore has received a lot of buzz for their innovative, modern take on traditional folk music, and won the 2021 Best Album award in the Flanders Folk Awards for their album August. In 2022, Hartwin and Ward formed a duo called Siger, featuring Hartwin on diatonic button accordion and Ward on cittern. We discussed with the brothers what it was like growing up in a musical family and then transitioning into professional musicians, as well as what motivates them and how they juggle their seemingly endless list of projects.