Tatiana Hargreaves & Allison De Groot | Fiddle and Banjo Duets | Intermediate/Advanced | Week 3 (Period 3)

Tatiana Hargreaves and Allison de Groot have been described as a “can’t-miss pair in 2019,” by Paste Magazine, and their rendition of Alice Gerrard’s song “Beaufort County Jail” was included in Rolling Stone Country’s “10 Best Country and Americana Songs to Hear.” Their album on Free Dirt Records is a powerful opening statement and “dives deep into the old-time style and comes up with something wonderfully fresh” (Vinyl District). De Groot & Hargreaves create a sound that is adventurous, masterful, and original, as they expand on the eccentricities of old songs, while never losing sight of what makes them endure. The duo not only showcases impressive musicianship, but reflects on which voices we seek to hear as we explore the expansive, diverse canon of American roots music. Their self-titled album released in 2019 was nominated for IBMA Liner Notes of the Year. You can order the album HERE.

Over the past decade, Tatiana Hargreaves has been on the forefront of an up and coming generation of old time, bluegrass and new acoustic musicians. From placing first at the Clifftop Appalachian Fiddle Contest, to her bluegrass fiddling on Laurie Lewis’ GRAMMY-nominated album The Hazel And Alice Sessions, Hargreaves shows a musical fluency that flows between old time and bluegrass worlds with ease. She has toured with musicians such as Dave Rawlings, Gillian Welch, Laurie Lewis, Darol Anger, Bruce Molsky and Jake Blount. She currently tours with banjo extraordinaire Allison de Groot and teaches bluegrass fiddle at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Tatiana’s band “Hard Drive” features Sonya Badigian, Aaron Tacke and Nokosee Fields and incorporates a combination of old-time, bluegrass and Texas fiddle repertoire. From brother duets to raging fiddle tunes, Hard Drive brings a sense of deep intuition and silliness to the world that encompasses old-time, country, and bluegrass. The Bluegrass Situation described the band as “a delightful subversion of our expectations of what traditional bluegrass is supposed to be.” See more about Hard Drive on the Projects page or purchase the album on Bandcamp.

Allison de Groot draws on a love for old-time and traditional music, and with a creative approach to the banjo, has formed her own sound – unique and full of personality. Her collaborations with Tatiana Hargreaves, Bruce Molsky’s trio Molsky’s Mountain Drifters, The Goodbye Girls and Nic Gareiss provide spaces to explore the role and dimensions of clawhammer banjo. She has performed at events such as Newport Folk Festival, Celtic Connections, Rockygrass, Hardly Strictly, Winnipeg Folk Festival & Tønder Festival. Allison holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance from Berklee College of Music in Boston where she attended on the Slaight Family Scholarship, and has been awarded the Joseph S. Stauffer Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Eisenson Family Prize for Excellence in American Roots Music. Her album with Tatiana Hargreaves won “Best Bluegrass Album” from the Independent Music Awards and was nominated for ‘Liner Notes of the Year’ at the International Bluegrass Music Association awards.