Mississippi Travelers
Alternately lyrical and hard driving, The Mississippi Travelers play the fiddle music and songs of Mississippi with deep knowledge of its past to make it sing in the present. Gems of this music are culled from Harry’s decade of research, which has so far produced two hefty books, and six recording projects. The old time music from Mississippi is a branch of the Appalachian tradition but with its own distinctive flair and rhythm. You will hear tunes with a touch of the blues, songs of longing and loss and just plain quirky pieces with names like, “Who’s Been Giving You Corn?,” “Sweet Milk and Peaches,” “Tequila Hop Blues.” As part of the effort to keep this fiddle dialect “walking and talking”, the Travelers also perform some of Harry’s tunes which are newly composed, but in the old style.
High resolution version of press photo above
Harry Bolick,(fiddle and vocals)
is
somewhat of a national treasure in that he is one of a handful of
fiddlers keeping
this tradition alive in our country. The genius of
this musician is not just his skill with a fiddle but
his pursuit of
his roots and musical traditions in his home state Mississippi.
The University Press of Mississippi has published his two Mississippi fiddle tradition books,
which transcribe and document almost every known tune from the state.
He is also a prolific fiddle tune composer.
more info about Harry
Brian Slattery In addition to playing with Harry, Brian Slattery (banjo, fiddle, vocals) plays with the New England-based band The Moon Shells the Connecticut-based bands Charlotte Roth and the Big Drama and The Hot Club of Black Rock, and the New Haven-based band Dr. Caterwaul’s Cadre of Clairvoyant Claptraps. He has been playing traditional music from the American South for 30 years and teaches classes and workshops on fiddle, banjo, guitar, and bass. Between the two of them Harry and Brian been playing music for 78 years! And 25 of those years together.
David Heiser started playing guitar as a Nashville high schooler and quickly found a home in traditional American and Irish music. He now lives in Connecticut and in addition to playing with the Mississippi Travelers plays with the Glacial Erratics, a New Haven-based fiddle and banjo band. In 2024 he was invited to Oak Spring Garden Foundation’s pilot Appalachian music residency with the Far Flung String Band, a group that used to live a lot closer together. David still occasionally plays with Twin Cities-based contra dance band Pig’s Eye Landing.
Recordings:
Clifftop 2020, where is everybody?
Videos: With Jacques DiCroce, guitar and Charlie Shaw, bass
Who's Been Giving You Corn,Valley School Blues, and Lincoln County Blues.
Jackson Stomp,Tompkins Corners Cultural Center, outdoor concert, 2022
Grover OBriant's Tune,Tompkins Corners Cultural Center, outdoor concert, 2022
Old Morgan,Tompkins Corners Cultural Center, outdoor concert, 2022.
Tequila Hop Blues,Tompkins Corners Cultural Center, outdoor concert, 2022.
Pontoc Widow / Flirting With the MenTompkins Corners Cultural Center, outdoor concert, 2022.
Stay All Night,Tompkins Corners Cultural Center, outdoor concert, 2020
Videos: With Nathan Bontrager and Brian Slattery:
-Sweet Milk and Peaches / White hat
-Third Party / Mississippi Shuffle