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.
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 15, 2023at 7:00 pm | The Guthrie Girls w/ the Rear Defrosters @ NOVA Arts48 Emerald St Keene, NH, United Stateswith Elixir |
Jun 18, 2023to Jun 24, 2023 | Lady of the Lake Music and Dance Week |
Jul 29, 2023at 8:00 pm | Greenfield Contra Dance401 Chapman St, Greenfield, MAwith Elixirwith Anna Patton (clarinet) and Kristen Planeaux (piano) |
Nov 3, 2023to Nov 5, 2023 | Foggy Moon Dance WeekendMonterey, CA United Stateswith Elixir |
Jan 12, 2024to Jan 14, 2024 | Contra CarnivaleSan Luis Obispo, CAwith Elixirwith THE SYNCOPATHS (Aslhey Hoyer, Christa Burch, Ryan McKasson, and Jeff Spero), ELOISE & CO. (Becy Tracy, Rachel Bell, and Bethany Waickman), Cis Hinkle and Susan Petrick |
Feb 29, 2024at 8:00 pm | Rear Defrosters @ NOVA Arts48 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.