A favorite on the SRT stage for many years, Maine champion fiddler Don Roy, with Cindy Roy (piano and step dancing) and Jay Young (bass) deliver polished, tight, pulsating sets, and exemplify the driving beat of traditional music. They will be joined by special guests, Rossby, Elsie, and Oliver Arnott. Hailing from roots deep in the Maritimes and Quebec, the Roy’s musical passion lies with the French-Canadian tradition, followed closely by Celtic music.

Don comes from Franco-American — and musical — ancestry. His grandparents immigrated to Maine from Quebec, and beginning at age 6, Don was learning to play music at family house parties. At 16, he won his first fiddle competition, the beginning of a long string of awards. Don’s CD “Thanks for the Lift” earned a nomination for the National Heritage Award. In 2016, he produced his latest recording, “Franco-American Fiddler.”

Cindy Roy, Don’s wife, brings Acadian traditions to the ensemble, playing guitar and piano. Cindy and bassist Jay Young might step away from their instruments occasionally and demonstrate some step dancing as well. Jay has depth in many music genres and is particularly deep in traditional music. He has been performing with Don and Cindy for 4 decades.

Special guests, Rossby (19), Elsie (17), and Oliver (15) Arnott of Otisfield, Maine, each began playing the fiddle when they were four years old. They were mostly self-taught until they met Don Roy at the 2016 Waterford World’s Fair Fiddle contest, which Rossby won. Rossby and Elsie both enjoyed taking lessons from Don and playing with the Don Roy Trio. They joined Fiddle-icious as special guests for our 2017 concert season, and again in 2018 and 2019 when they were joined by their younger brother Oliver who had been secretly learning some of the tunes himself. All three now play regularly with the Don Roy Trio.

The Don Roy Ensemble have played at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, appeared with Garrison Keillor, and performed on two occasions at the Kennedy Center.

In honor of their deep commitment to the musical heritage of Maine, the National Endowment for the Arts named Don and Cindy Roy 2018 NEA National Heritage Fellows, the highest honor the government bestows on traditional artists.

This promises to be a lively evening of great traditional music!