Ethan's fiddling combines expressive subtlety, playfulness, and compelling rhythmic power born out of more than two decades of experience as a dance musician. A versatile and inspiring performer, Ethan is equally at home digging into an Irish, Quebecois, or New England fiddle tune, improvising on a classic blues, swing, or honky-tonk song, or interpreting a lyrical waltz or English Country Dance melody.
Based in Brattleboro, Vermont, Ethan tours extensively throughout the U.S. and abroad, playing for dances, festivals, camps, concerts, weddings, and other events with his bands Elixir and The Figments. He performs closer to home with honky-tonk band The Rear Defrosters. Ethan is also an avid composer of tunes in traditional styles, and his compositions and arrangements have been played and recorded widely.
Jan 18, 2019to Jan 20, 2019 | Contra CarnivaleSan Luis Obispo, CAwith Elixirwith Nils Fredland calling and playing trombone! |
Jan 25, 2019at 8:00 pm | Greenfield Contra Dance401 Chapman St, Greenfield, MAwith Elixir |
Jan 26, 2019at 3:00 pm | Snow BallPeterborough, NHwith Elixir |
Feb 22, 2019at 8:00 pm | Rear Defrosters - Johnny Cash Birthday BashThe Stone Church 210 Main St, Brattleboro, VT 05301, United Stateswith Elixir |
Feb 23, 2019at 7:30 pm | Emma and the Sweet Pea Pickers Benefit Concert and DanceRebop Farm, 1320 Sunset Lake Rd. Brattleboro, VTwith ElixirAn evening of swingy music and dancing on the hill, provided by the endlessly charming Emma Schneider, Arthur Davis, Anna Patton, Ethan Hazzard-Watkins, and Guillaume Sparrow Pepin. All proceeds benefit the NOFA farm share program. Your contribution will help subsidize CSA shares for lower-income neighbors. See: nofavt.org/farmshare |
Apr 6, 2019at 8:00 pm | Montpelier Contra DanceCapital City Grange, Montpelier, VTwith Elixirwith Anna Patton (clarinet) and Julie Vallimont (piano) |
May 24, 2019to May 27, 2019 | FolkMADnessSocorro, NMwith ElixirThe Figments: Ethan Hazzard-Watkins (fiddle), Anna Patton (clarinet), and Owen Morrison (guitar/feet) |
Jun 9, 2019at 3:30 pm | Waltz Time DancesGlen Echo Park, MDwith Elixirwaltz lesson 2:45-3:30 |
Jun 21, 2019to Jun 23, 2019 | Summer SoireeWarren Wilson Collegewith Elixirwith Brian Bender, trombone and Alexander Mitchell, fiddle |
Jun 29, 2019at 7:30 pm | Palo Alto Contra DanceFirst United Methodist Church 625 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301, United Stateswith Elixir |
Jun 30, 2019to Jul 5, 2019 | BACDS American WeekLa Honda, CA, United Stateswith ElixirThe Figments: Ethan Hazzard-Watkins (fiddle), Anna Patton (clarinet), and Owen Morrison (guitar/feet) |
Jul 18, 2019at 5:30 pm | Rear Defrosters @ Retreat Farm Food Truck Roundup |
Aug 2, 2019at 8:00 pm | Mostly Waltz GreenfieldGuiding Star Grange, 401 Chapman St, Greenfield, MAwith ElixirLarry Unger (guitar) |
Aug 9, 2019to Aug 11, 2019 | Balance the Baywith Brian Bender, trombone and Audrey Knuth, fiddle |
Aug 30, 2019to Sep 2, 2019 | Mountain MADnessAvalon Ballroom, Boulder, COwith Elixirwith Nils Fredland & Lisa Greenleaf calling, and Buddy System |
Oct 11, 2019to Oct 13, 2019 | Harvest MoonCarillo Ballroom, Santa Barbara, CAwith Elixirwith Nils Fredland, calling and trombone |
Dec 6, 2019to Dec 8, 2019 | Winter WarmupColumbus, OHwith Elixirwith Audrey Knuth, fiddle and Brian Bender, trombone |
Jan 8, 2020at 7:30 pm | Rear Defrosters @ EchoEcho Restaurant and Lounge 73 Main St, Brattleboro, VT 05301, United Stateswith Elixir |
Jan 23, 2020at 7:30 pm | NEFFA ContraConcord Scout House 74 Walden St, Concord, MA 01742, United Stateswith Elixir |
Jan 24, 2020at 8:00 pm | Greenfield Contra Dance401 Chapman St, Greenfield, MAwith Elixir |
Jan 25, 2020 | Snow BallPeterborough, NH, United Stateswith Elixir |
Feb 6, 2020at 10:30 pm | Lake City contra danceSeattle Latvian Centerwith Elixir |
Feb 7, 2020to Feb 9, 2020 | Supersonic Contra Dance WeekendLeif Erikson Hall, Seattle, WA, United Stateswith Elixir |
Mar 27, 2020at 7:30 pm | CANCELLED: Rear Defrosters @ Guilford GrangeGuilford Grange, Guilford, VTwith ElixirBenefit for Groundworks Collaborative |
Apr 3, 2020to Apr 5, 2020 | POSTPONED: Gypsy MeltdownCharlotte, NC, United Stateswith ElixirThis event has been postponed. Stay tuned for further details... |
Apr 17, 2020to Apr 19, 2020 | CANCELLED: Desert SpringPhoenix, AZ, United Stateswith ElixirThe Figments |
Jun 21, 2020at 2:30 pm | Fathers Day Zoom Concert & Dance2:30 PM EDT / 11:30 AM PDT A program of waltzes and other selections– swing, fiddle tunes, and a singing square– for your dancing and listening pleasure. We miss playing together! We miss playing for you! So please join us for this event that is a dance party, a father’s day concert, a quixotic musical undertaking, and a reunion of friends from far and wide. With Anna Patton at the musical engineering helm, we are preparing recorded tracks for each other so that all of us can take turns playing live for you from our homes. We’re taking the opportunity to debut new tunes and songs, as well as playing and singing some old favorites. Join us on Zoom to watch, listen, dance along, and find out what we’ve been up to. Join on Zoom: www.proyl.com/jQ7fk9RX3 Follow the link above, enter the code that appears on the screen, and you will be forwarded to the Zoom link Stream on Facebook: www.facebook.com/events/3133037080109542 Elixir will donate 10% of proceeds from this event to the Movement for Black Lives in support of organizing to end racist violence and to invest in Black communities. |
Nov 7, 2020at 5:00 pm | Concert for Foggy MoonLive on Zoomwith ElixirElixir will perform a live online concert in lieu of playing for the Foggy Moon dance weekend. Details here: www.facebook.com/events/261790015189072 |
To order Elixir CDs please visit the Elixir store.
Selected traditional and original material arranged to highlight the diverse musical ideas that grow out of the New England contra dance tradition. Ethan’s solo CD moves gracefully between high energy jigs and reels, contemplative airs, and lovely waltzes, flirting with musical ideas drawn from a wide range of styles. Recorded and Mixed by Bob Mills in Guilford, VT.
Anna Patton (clarinet), Bob Mills (guitar & bouzouki), Chuck Corman (bass), Erica Morse (cello & bass) Elvie Miller (piano & accordion), Jesse Hazzard-Watkins (trumpet), lydia ievins (fiddle), Marko Packard (guitar & sax), Naomi Morse (fiddle & viola), Peter Siegel (guitar, mandolin, banjo, & feet), Roger Kahle (guitar), Seth Houston (piano).
Ethan's collection of original tunes, published in 2007, is no longer available in print. You can download a complete PDF of the book or find some individual highlights and more recent compositions below.