The event opens Friday with music by the Bates ensemble Chase the Fiddlers led by Greg Boardman of the applied music faculty and by the Scottish trio Cantrip.
Friday’s performers also include Bates College students; the Press Gang, an Irish-music trio from Portland; and the Scottish-Latin fusion band Alba’s Edge. Kim Roberts of Farmington will call a 6:30 p.m. contradance with the Maine duo Velocipede and a 9 p.m. contradance with the Scottish band Alba’s Edge.
On Saturday, an open mic featuring Bates musicians starts the day’s activities at noon. Following a 1 p.m. contradance with music by Greg and Jessie Boardman, Velocipede will offer a concert at 3:30 p.m. Performances by student bands will conclude the festival on Saturday evening.
The event is open to the public. Admission fees vary according to ability to pay — from $5 to $20 for one day, and $10 to $30 for both days. No one will be turned away for inability to pay. Tickets are available at the door. For more information, visit batesfolkfest.weebly.com/.
The event is sponsored by the Freewill Folk Society, a student organization at Bates. For more information, contact mpickof2@bates.edu.
About the performers
Chase the Fiddlers is a folk band composed of Bates students and faculty including Greg Boardman, of Auburn, a longtime presence in the Maine folk music scene.
Cantrip is composed of fiddler Jon Bews, bagpiper Dan Houghton and multi-instrumentalist Eric McDonald. Performing on both sides of the Atlantic for more than a decade, the band weaves together music both traditional and contemporary to take audiences on a unique cultural journey.
Velocipede, featuring fiddle tunes from around the world, consists of Julia Plumb, a member of the Bates class of 2005 who plays fiddle, viola and foot percussion; and Baron Collins-Hill, playing mandolin and tenor guitar.
Alba’s Edge draws on jazz, funk and the music of Cuba and Brazil, infusing traditional Scottish melodies with new ideas. Based in New York City and Boston, Alba’s Edge is led by pianist Neil Pearlman.
The Press Gang, composed of squeezebox player Christian “Junior” Stevens, fiddler Alden Robinson and guitarist Owen Marshall, performs all over the Northeast and into Atlantic Canada.
Greg and Jessie Boardman play fiddle and cello.
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- The Scottish trio Cantrip, from left: Eric McDonald, Jon Bews and Dan Houghton.
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- Alba’s Edge, from left: Doug Berns, bassist; Neil Pearlman, pianist; Lilly Pearlman, fiddler; Jacob Cole, percussionist. At Bates, Katie McNally will fill in for Lilly Pearlman.
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