The Bee Eaters

The Bee Eaters trace their roots back to musical traditions as diverse as bluegrass, Celtic, jazz and old-time–molding, melding, shaping those traditions with their own indelible imprint. Brother-sister duo Tristan and Tashina Clarridge, long known and lauded by those steeped in the American fiddle tradition, are joined by hammer dulcimer wizard Simon Chrisman.

Tashina Clarridge, the 2005 Grand National Fiddle Champion, has toured with Mark O’Connor, Tony Trischka and Laurie Lewis and has performed at Carnegie Hall as a part of MacArthur Fellow/Grammy-winning bassist Edgar Meyer’s Young Artists program. Multi-instrumentalist brother Tristan is an innovative cellist and 5-time Grand National Fiddle Champion. His talents have been sought by Darol Anger, Mike Marshall, Bruce Molsky and Cape Breton fiddle phenomenon, Natalie MacMaster. In addition to performing with the Bee Eaters, he tours internationally with Crooked Still.

Hammer dulcimer virtuoso Simon Chrisman’s inventive virtuosic touch and sophisticated rhythmic sensibilities are redefining the instrument and earning the attention of musicians from all over the world. He has performed with Darol Anger and Mike Marshall, opened for Bill Frisell and, at the tender age of 16, was a scholarship guest artist at the prestigious Augusta Heritage Festival.

Since their formation in 2008 (with original member Wesley Corbett), the Bee Eaters ensemble work has taken on mature, textured and nuanced tones, as their compositions have become more thoughtful and intricate. With Tashina’s delicate fiddle and Tristan’s grounding cello wrapped around Simon’s ethereal dulcimer, they have created a never-before-heard sound in American music. No tricks. No pyrotechnics. Three instrumental voices, united in their musical exploration.

Perhaps Tony Trischka says it best: “Their impressive ensemble work… leaves me breathless. Their music excites, heals and enriches. Listen often.”

Cahalen Morrison and Eli WestWith a handful of acoustic instruments and the clear harmonies of bluegrass song traditions, Cahalen Morrison and Eli West have created an entirely new strain of roots music. Their sound crosses the warmth of old-time with the fierceness of bluegrass and high lonesome harmonies that would fit into any evening at the Opry. Together, they’ve taken time-tested musical traditions and bent them into new shapes to fit a new world. Cahalen Morrison is a genuine, old-time musician, who blends his love of American roots music with the dusty land of his childhood in rural New Mexico. He builds on influences like Norman Blake, Greg Brown, and Tim O’Brien and his music twists and turns in familiar, yet unexpected ways. Eli West, a distinctive multi-instrumentalist with bluegrass roots, has found common ground with Cahalen from which many beautiful ideas have grown. Based in Seattle, Eli is a busy arranger and composer with an addiction to syncopation and crooked harmonies. The roots of Cahalen Morrison and Eli West are strong, their branches are shady, and the guitars, banjos, mandolins, and harmonies will carry you far off the beaten path to a place under open Western skies.