Chris germain
fiddle/guitar/vocals
- Born and raised in Missouri, Chris began playing traditional music as a teenager. He learned to play from legendary Missouri fiddlers Taylor McBaine, Pete McMahan, Cyril Stinnett and Bob Holt. Today, Chris is regarded as one of the leading proponents of Missouri and Midwestern style fiddling. Chris has won numerous awards at fiddling contests around the country, including 1st Place in the Senior Fiddle Championship at the Appalachian Stringband Music Festival (Clifftop) in 2023. He has performed at many music festivals including The Walnut Valley Music Festival (Winfield), The Augusta Heritage Center, Wheatlands Music Festival, Clifftop and many others. He can be heard on the following recordings: Nile Wilson, Tie-Hacker Hoedown, MSOTFA 202-CD & Patt, Possum and Chris; Dance Around Molly CWM-013. Chris also makes award-winning violins, violas and cellos at his Center City Philadelphia studio. More information can be found at: www.germainviolins.com.
Heidi germain
bass/guitar
Tommy Jarrell once told Heidi after hearing her play, “You have a real spark.” Mac Traynam put it this way: “Heidi’s timing is impeccable. She understands the music and where it needs to go.” Heidi’s grandpa, Chester Sanders, played bass, banjo and guitar. She grew up listening to Carter and Ralph Stanley, Johnny Cash, and an extensive record collection of old-time music and country andswing classics. She settled in Virginia when she was 19 years old, and quickly became caught up in the old-time music and square dance scenes in Virginia and beyond. Heidi has been a mainstay on the old-time music scene for decades, playing with a number of bands,including, The Mountain Boomers, The Queen City Bulldogs, Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters and others. She has performed at numerous music festivals, including: The Augusta Heritage Concertseries and workshops, The Hudson River Clearwater Revival, Music at Wolf Trap, The Carter Fold Music Series and many others. She can be heard on the following recordings: Tribute to the Anthology of American Folk Music, The Harry Smith Connection. Smithsonian Folkways-SFW40085 , Tribute to the Anthology of American Folk Music SFW CD 264, Smithsonian Folkways – SFW CD 40193, 2007.
John Salmon
guitar/banjo/vocals
Guitarist John Salmon was first exposed to old-time music when his older brother took him to the Chester County Old Fiddlers’ Picnic when he was around 4. A seed must have been planted, because when he rediscovered the music for himself in his twenties, it immediately felt like home. Since his first band, The Shrubs, John has played in various obscure rock & roots ensembles including Hippies with Haircuts, Nude Sandalfoot, 13 Ghosts/Lunch Hour, Sourwood Mountain, Flat Possum Boys, Hasty Pudding, the Tomato Dodgers, False-hearted Chickens, and the Tail-Turners. He is thrilled to be playing Missouri-centered tunes and resurrecting old-time songs with The Hazel Nuts.
keith brand
banjo/vocals
- Keith Brand is a Professor in the Radio, Television, & Film Department at Rowan University. He has been playing banjo for over forty years In addition to music, Keith has produced freelance audio pieces for NPR's All Things Considered and hosted Sleepy Hollow on WXPN FM in Philadelphia PA for twenty-six years.