GREENE — Fiddler Erica Brown, who has opened for Grammy Award-winning country superstar Dwight Yoakam, and her band will perform Friday, Aug. 26, at Araxine Wilkins Sawyer Foundation.

Brown is known for combining the precision of classical music with the spontaneity of country and bluegrass fiddle. Other members of the Erica Brown & The Bluegrass Connection are Matt Shipman, guitar and vocals; Steve Roy, mandolin and vocals; Read McNamara, banjo; and Ken Taylor, bass.

At the age 7, Brown competed in fiddle contests with children twice her age. Two years later, she was traveling throughout New England, Canada and Louisiana with the Maine French Fiddlers.

She has played as a special guest with Mac McHale and the Old-Time Radio Gang for five years. Her bluegrass band performs all over New England, and she is also a member of The Stowaways, Darlin’ Corey and The Record Family Band.

Brown has also opened for Grammy Award-winning bluegrass performer Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder.

In 2003, she was named Junior Female Entertainer of the Year by the Maine Country Music Association and, in 2006, received the Harold Carter Memorial Award from the Down East Country Music Association. Also that year, she was recognized as a master artist by the Maine Arts Commission.

Brown has helped bring music into several elementary schools by holding workshops and performances.

The concerts will begin at 2 and 7 p.m. Doors open one hour prior to show. The Sawyer Memorial is at 371 Sawyer Road. For more information, call 946-5311 or email sawyermem@fairpoint.net.

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