Brittany Haas & Lauren Rioux: Live from Empty Sea

California-born Brittany Haas is widely regarded as one of the most influential fiddlers of her generation. She grew up honing her craft in fiddle camps nationwide, and came to her unique sound through the old-time fiddling of Bruce Molsky and the innovative stylings of Darol Anger, her mentors. A prodigious youth, she began touring with Darol's Republic of Strings at the age of 14. She simultaneously studied baboons in the evolutionary biology department of Princeton University (and minoring in music performance, composing with professor Dan Trueman) and joined seminal chamber-grass band Crooked Still. She has toured with them since, and also performed with Yonder Mountain String Band, Tony Trischka, Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas (her cellist sister), Abigail Washburn, and The Waybacks. She played her fiddle on Steve Martin's Grammy Award-winning CD, "The Crow," and performed in his band on Letterman and SNL. She released her debut self-titled solo album at 17, produced by Darol Anger and featuring Bruce Molsky, Mike Marshall, Alison Brown and others. Currently residing in Boston, she recently released the debut album of all original music "you got this" with her trio Haas Kowert Tice (with Punch Brothers bassist Paul Kowert and New York guitarist Jordan Tice). She also plays in a duo with Swedish fiddler Lena Jonsson, the avant-garde fiddle/dance ensemble 4tet, and a Norwegian/Appalachian project with composer Dan Trueman.

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Lauren Rioux has toured the United States, Europe and the UK with Darol Anger and his Republic of Strings, as a duo with Brittany Haas, with Scott Nygaard and Crow Molly, and most recently with her husband Sten Isak.

Lauren is a proud Maine-iac, born in Portland and raised in East Machias. She graduated from University of Southern Maine with degrees in Violin Performance and Music Education on full-scholarship. She is enthusiastically sought out for her teaching expertise and leads classes and workshops across the globe. In her private studio, she teaches a delightfully rowdy group of over thirty violinists, violists, and fiddlers ranging in age from 5 to 70.