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.
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 |
Jun 17, 2021at 8:00 pm | Rear Defrosters at NOVA48 Emerald St Keene, NH, United Stateswith Elixir |
Jun 26, 2021at 5:00 pm | Rear Defrosters at Bunker FarmThe Bunker Farm 857 Bunker Rd, East Dummerston, VT 05346, United Stateswith Elixir |
Jul 16, 2021to Jul 18, 2021 | Swing into SummerPinewoods Camp 80 Cornish Field Rd, Plymouth, MA 02360, United Stateswith Elixir |
Aug 19, 2021at 8:00 pm | Rear Defrosters at NOVA48 Emerald St Keene, NH, United Stateswith Elixir |
Sep 16, 2021at 8:00 pm | Rear Defrosters at NOVA48 Emerald St Keene, NH, United Stateswith Elixir |
Sep 25, 2021at 5:00 pm | Rear Defrosters @ Chesterfield, NH Lantern Supper535 Old Chesterfield Rd Chesterfield, NH, United Stateswith Elixir |
Oct 21, 2021at 8:00 pm | Rear Defrosters at NOVA48 Emerald St Keene, NH, United Stateswith Elixir |
Dec 16, 2021at 6:00 pm | Rear Defrosters @ NOVA48 Emerald St Keene, NH, United Stateswith Elixir |
Mar 24, 2022at 8:00 pm | Rear Defrosters at NOVA48 Emerald St Keene, NH, United Stateswith Elixir |
Apr 28, 2022at 8:00 pm | Rear Defrosters at NOVA48 Emerald St Keene, NH, United Stateswith Elixir |
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.