Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves announced for Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival

Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves have been described as “one living, breathing organism”, with their music “transform(ing) the listener to a different plane”. Their sound together captivates listeners through intricate and interactive dynamics between the banjo and the fiddle. They are individually recognized as leaders in the young generation of roots musicians, de Groot being known for intricate clawhammer banjo work with Bruce Molsky, and Hargreaves bringing powerhouse fiddling to the stage with Laurie Lewis and David Rawlings in addition to teaching bluegrass fiddle at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The duo’s 2022 sophomore album, Hurricane Clarice reflects history, family, literature, live performance, and environmental instability in the sounds, feelings, and sensations that permeate their music. The album won “Best Instrumental Group of the Year” and “Best Traditional Album of the Year” from the Canadian Folk Music Awards and also received a Juno nomination for “Traditional Roots Album of the Year.”

If Hurricane Clarice has the incendiary fire of a red hot live performance, that was very much the plan for de Groot, Hargreaves, and Cook. “We love performing live together so much,” says de Groot. “We were talking to Phil about that, how do you capture that energy and intimacy of a performance without being too aware that you’re recording in a studio? Phil’s idea was to just play it like it’s a show.” They worked out the innovative idea of rehearsing and recording the music as performance “sets” about one hour long. Musically, both artists are at the absolute top of their game. In addition to the recording innovations, the duo have worked tirelessly to build on their already impressive technique and to find new ways to play live together. In stringband music, nearly every song or tune necessitates a complete retuning of the fiddle and banjo, so set lists have to be carefully built and the best artists develop an intricate knowledge of alternate tunings and modalities. For de Groot & Hargreaves, they wanted their set list to build a narrative that flowed easily and that showcased their abilities as consummate artisans.

This summer the duo takes their "sets" over to Rotterdam for performances at the Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival:

04/07: Rotterdam, NL - Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival
05/07: Rotterdam, NL - Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival