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.
Aug 6, 2022to Aug 13, 2022 | American Dance and Music WeekPinewoods Camp, Plymouth, MAwith Elixir |
Sep 15, 2022at 8:00 pm | Rear Defrosters @ NOVA Arts48 Emerald St Keene, NH, United Stateswith Elixir |
Oct 14, 2022at 8:00 pm | ContrashockChurch of St Paul & St Andrew United Methodist 263 W 86th St, New York, NY 10024, United Stateswith ElixirWill Mentor (calling) and The Figments |
Oct 15, 2022at 2:30 pm | ContrashockChurch of St Paul & St Andrew United Methodist 263 W 86th St, New York, NY 10024, United Stateswith ElixirWill Mentor and Maia McCormick (calling), music by Rover Road and The Figments 2:00-5:30 PM Afternoon Advanced Contra 7:30-10:45 PM Contra Dance for All |
Oct 16, 2022at 1:00 pm | ContrastockSpanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park, Glen Echo, MDwith ElixirWill Mentor, Gaye Fifer, Perry Shafran, The Figments, River Road, Blue Moon |
Nov 17, 2022at 8:00 pm | Rear Defrosters @ NOVA Arts48 Emerald St Keene, NH, United Stateswith Elixir |
Dec 23, 2022at 7:30 pm | Rear Defrosters @ NOVA48 Emerald St Keene, NH, United Stateswith ElixirOpening for Sarah Lee Guthrie |
Jan 6, 2023to Jan 8, 2023 | Florida dance weekendThe Dancing Fish of Lake Santa Fe, Melrose, FLwith ElixirMary Wesley (calling) and The Figments: Ethan Hazzard-Watkins (fiddle), Anna Patton (clarinet), Owen Morrison (guitar/foot percussion) Friday 7-10 PM, Saturday 7-10 PM and Sunday Noon to 3 PM |
Feb 17, 2023to Feb 19, 2023 | Corvallis Contra Dance WeekendCorvallis, ORwith Elixir |
Mar 9, 2023at 8:00 pm | Rear Defrosters @ NOVA Arts48 Emerald St Keene, NH, United Stateswith Elixir |
Mar 17, 2023to Mar 19, 2023 | Spring Breakdown Dance WeekendJefferson City, MOwith Elixir |
Mar 31, 2023to Apr 2, 2023 | Epicenter Dance WeekendThe Figments: Anna Patton (clarinet), Ethan Hazzard-Watkins (fiddle), Owen Morrison (guitar, foot percussion) |
Apr 12, 2023at 8:00 pm | Rear Defrosters @ NOVA Arts48 Emerald St Keene, NH, United Stateswith Elixir |
May 5, 2023at 7:00 pm | Neon Rainbow at Brattleboro Gallery WalkElliot St, Brattleboro VTwith ElixirQueer honky tonk with the Rear Defrosters |
Jun 18, 2023to Jun 24, 2023 | Lady of the Lake Music and Dance Week |
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.