KINGFIELD — New England Celtic Arts, the Kingfield POPS and the Stanley Museum have joined forces to bring the Cape Cod-based duo Stanley and Grimm to the Herbert Hotel on Tuesday, Oct. 11.

Fiddler Nikki Engstrom and guitarist/singer Sean Brennanth will also take the stage on Wednesday, Oct. 12, at Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center in Carthage;  and on Thursday, Oct. 13, at Unity College Center for the Performing Arts in Unity.

The duo made its debut appearance at the 2005 Cape Cod Celtic Festival, opening for the internationally known Cape Breton group Beolach.

Since then, the two have recorded three CDs of traditional material and original compositions and arrangements; opened shows for Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill, Liz Carroll & John Doyle, and traveled throughout New England playing concerts, house parties, festivals and pubs.

Engstrom, an award-winning fiddler, teaches workshops at festivals throughout the year while maintaining more than 30 full-time private students on Cape Cod. She has performed, competed and taught throughout New England and Canada. She has also composed many original tunes, including “Little Hawk” and “The Huntress.”

Brennan has been playing in sessions and entertaining in pubs for many years in Boston and Cape Cod, performing as guest accompanist for well-known artists such as Eamon Coyne, Patsy Whelan and the late Jerry Holland, as well as performing regularly with Dublin balladeer Dave Hickey. Besides the diverse ballads and songs in his extensive repertoire, he has written many of his own songs, including “Galway Senorita” and “Last Night’s Fun.”

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The duo takes its name from the makers of Nikki’s fiddle and bow, fiddle-maker and inventor of the Stanley steam engine, F.O. Stanley, and Grimm, respectively.

Stanley made a toy violin for himself at age 10. In 1865, at age 16, he built his first full-sized instrument. Together with his twin brother, Francis Edgar Stanley, he produced a select number of concert-quality instruments after careful study of classic violins produced by Italian masters. Stanley traveled to Cremona to purchase spruce for his violin tops and to Germany for the Bosnian maple for the back, sides and neck.

After his retirement from the Stanley Motor Carriage Co., Stanley set up a home-based violin-making shop with his nephew, Carlton Fairfield Stanley, in Newton, Mass. The Stanley violin is still one of the most sought after in the world.

At the Kingfield concert, Howard Randall, president and chairman of the Board of Trustees and the Managing Trustee of the Stanley Museum, will give a short talk about the Stanley family and the Stanley violins. Several Stanley violins will be on display.

Curtain is at 7 p.m. at Skye and the Herbert; 7:30 p.m. at Unity. There will be jam sessions one hour prior to curtain at Skye and Unity. There will be a meet and greet at the Herbert at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $15 at the door at Skye and Unity, $10 at the Herbert. Call Skye Theatre at 562-4445, UCCPA at 948-7469 or the Herbert Hotel at 265-2000. Skye Theater is at 2 Highland Drive in Carthage. UCCPA is at 42 Depot St., Unity. The Herbert Hotel is at 246 Main St.


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