The Fourth Annual Fiddlers’ Rendezvous, sponsored by LA Arts, will take place from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 11, at the gazebo in Kennedy Park in Lewiston. Performers include Ed Howe with Drivetrain, Québecois master fiddler Éric Favreau, and New England style fiddler Lissa Schneckenburger. Accompanists include guitarists Owen Marshall and Bennett Konesni, with Stuart Kenny on bass. Each fiddler will give their own showcase performance, and the Rendezvous will end with an all-musician jam.

Ed Howe is one of Maine’s most accomplished bluegrass fiddlers. Born into a musical family, Howe started playing fiddle at the age of 4, learning Suzuki method. His musical interests cover a wide spectrum from bluegrass to Celtic and beyond and he has been a regular instructor for Maine Fiddle Camp since 2003. Howe has an extensive electronics background, and took an interest in the electric violin. He plays a 5-string NS Design electronic violin and is a featured artist on the NS design artist page. He makes extensive use of the BOSS RC-50 loop station to layer and orchestrate a variety of sounds from his instrument and watching him play bare footed and operating complex electronic equipment with his feet is a sight to behold. Howe started the renowned contradance band Perpetual eMotion with fellow musician John Coté. His work with Drivetrain showcases his deep engagement with the music, bringing out everything he can find in beautiful American fiddle tunes.

Favreau comes from a family of traditional musicians and has spent a great deal of time playing with other fiddlers, learning their repertoire and studying their varied styles. He has explored and exploited various sources including archives and personally made field recordings and has accumulated a rich and fascinating repertoire. Over the years, he has garnered a profound understanding and vast knowledge of Québécois traditional music. As an individual, and in various groups including Entourloupe, Favreau has vast experience in the Canadian, United States and European music scenes. He has recorded two solo albums, two with his current group Entourloupe, and has appeared on at least a dozen others. He is a consummate entertainer/educator in his Introduction to Traditional Music Workshop in the public school system under the auspices of the Minister of Education. He also teaches traditional fiddle, and the history of traditional music at the Cégèp (Junior college music) in Joliette, Québec.

The first year of the pandemic was a deeply creative time for Vermont based fiddle composer and song-writer Lissa Schneckenburger. When everything shut down (including her touring schedule), writing music became an essential outlet. Schneckenburger explains, “I had to write music to process my experience of living through such a difficult time. It was my life line.” The result was what Schneckenburger jokingly calls “overflowing bucketfuls of music” and enough new material for several album releases. The first album, “Falling Forward,” is a collection of Schneckenburger’s original fiddle tunes and two traditional New England songs, released in March 2023. Schneckenburger hired a star powered all female cast of musicians to record her compositions, and the album was recorded in December of 2022. The ensemble included fiddling producer Katie McNally, pianist Rachel Aucoin, bass player Mali Obomsawin, cellist Natalie Haas, and accordion player Karen Tweed. “These women are my heroes,” Schneckenburger says. “They are leaders in the acoustic music world, and it was such an honor to record with them.” The tunes range from lively to somber and introspective. Many reflect the tone of a riotous fiddle party with floorboards thumping, bow hair flying, and instruments and dancers in every corner. Falling Forward provides music for both meditation and release. Both of which feel appropriate in processing our collective experience as a society over the last few years. During the past few decades, Schneckenburger has made music showcasing everything from traditional dance tunes, to original songs. The latter inspired by her experience as a foster and adoptive parent. “Falling Forward” has blended her love of traditional music with her love of writing, in her first fiddle forward album release in over a decade.

Konesni grew up in Appleton, Maine. He was naturally drawn into the strong communities of old-time music, sailing, and farming in the area. At thirteen he shipped as a deckhand aboard local schooners, sailing Penobscot Bay and learning the traditional work songs of the tall ships as he raised sails and hauled anchor. Later, at Middlebury College, Bennett co-founded the student farm and spent six months studying Zulu farming songs in South Africa. He was awarded a Thomas J Watson fellowship to spend a postgraduate year in Tanzania, Ghana, Mongolia, Vietnam, Switzerland, and Holland studying worksongs of sea, field and steppe.

One of the most in demand upright bass, and five-string banjo players on the US contradance circuit, Kenney’s regional musical interests sweep from Southwest Louisiana to Acadia. He has a long career in many traditional music genres. His interest in Quebecois music formed through the fiddling of Lisa Ornstein, and performances by La Bottine Souriante. The inclusion of French Canadian music into the living tradition of New England contradance music caught his attention early on. In 1999, Stuart’s path crossed with Sabin Jacques and Rachel Aucoin at Augusta Heritage Traditional Dance and Music week. At that point, Stuart invited them to play for contradances in Greenfield, Massachusetts, and they’ve been playing together ever since. Later, these three formed this group, Tidal Wave. Kenney is a founding member of many great bands including AIRDANCE, Greenfield Dance Band, The Sevens, Tidal Wave, and Undertoe. He spent 14 years touring with the legendary contradance band Wild Asparagus. He is a much-in-demand studio musician as well with over fifty recordings to his credit. His most recent project, Undertoe, is a musical collaboration with accordionist Karen Tweed (Yorkshire, England), John Dipper (London), and Marko Packard (US). He has composed many original pieces of music featured in their first recording, “Walking Down Angell Road.” Although his music has brought him coast to coast and beyond, his musical home is at the Guiding Star Grange in Greenfield, Massachusetts, where he plays for and hosts the TopHill Music and Dance Series.

Vogue magazine calls musician Marshall “A guitar/mandolin/banjo player rivaled in character only by the occasional three-pronged carrot.” With the music traditions of Quebec and Nova Scotia just over the border from his home in Vermont and the strong Irish musical scene of Boston to the south, he was immersed in the various textures and sounds of the Celtic music from an early age. Now a Maine resident, Marshall tours with acts such as The Seamus Egan Project, Copley Street, Riptide, and The Press Gang. Owen is in demand at festivals and music camps throughout New England and the US, where he shares his approach to accompanying traditional music.

In the event of rain, the event will move into Trinity Commons located at 247 Bates St., Lewiston, just adjacent to Kennedy Park.