55 American fiddlers

Calpernia Sarah Addams is an American author, actress, musician and spokesperson and activist for transgender rights and issues.

D'Jalma Garnier III is a musician and composer best known for Creole and Cajun fiddle and "outside" musical compositions and collaborations with other artists.

Andrew Wegman Bird is a Grammy nominated indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing music, indie rock, and folk music. He is primarily known for his unique style of violin playing, accompanied by loop and effect pedals, whistling, and voice. In the '90s, he sang and played violin in several jazz ensembles, including Squirrel Nut Zippers and Kevin O'Donnell's Quality Six. He went on to start his own swing ensemble, Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire, which released three albums between 1998 and 2001. Weather Systems (2003) was his first solo album, and a departure from jazz music into indie music. Bird's 2019 album My Finest Work Yet was nominated for "Best Folk Album" at the 2020 Grammy Awards.

Jasper E. "Jep" Bisbee was an American old time musician. Bisbee was one of the few oldtime musicians, who recorded for Edison Records recordings and one of the first rural musicians who ever produced a record.

"Aunt" Samantha Bumgarner was an American acclaimed early country and folk music performer and singer from Dillsboro, North Carolina. She won much praise for her work with the fiddle and banjo. In 1924, accompanied by guitarist Eva Davis, she traveled to New York City and recorded about a dozen songs for Columbia Records. The recordings are also notable for being the first use of a 5-string banjo on a recording. She was a yearly staple at Bascom Lamar Lunsford's Mountain Dance and Folk Festival from 1928 until shortly before her death.

Robert Carlyle Byrd was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from West Virginia for over 51 years, from 1959 until his death in 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd also served as a U.S. Representative for six years, from 1953 until 1959. He remains the longest-serving U.S. Senator in history; he was the longest-serving member in the history of the United States Congress until surpassed by Representative John Dingell of Michigan. He was the last remaining member of the U.S. Senate to have served during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower, and he was the last remaining member of Congress to have served during the presidency of Harry S. Truman. Byrd is also the only West Virginian to have served in both chambers of the state legislature and both chambers of Congress.

Ann Marie Simpson-Einziger is an American violinist, inventor and technology entrepreneur. Ann Marie has closely collaborated with Hans Zimmer on numerous film scores, including Sherlock Holmes, Interstellar, 12 Years a Slave, The Lone Ranger, The Little Prince, Man of Steel, and Captain Phillips among many others. Ann Marie has written and performed with a wide range of artists including Pharrell Williams, David A Stewart, Skrillex, Damian Marley, Robin Thicke, Tyler the Creator, Hans Zimmer, Jethro Tull, Steve Vai, Dave Matthews Band, Ringo Starr, A.R.Rahman and Mick Jagger's group SuperHeavy and Yanni. As a serial entrepreneur and inventor, Ann Marie is the co-founder of wireless networking technology platform, MIXhalo, and also co-founder of biotechnology startup, Versicolor Technologies. Ann Marie received her education at University of Virginia, where she double-majored in Music and Biology.

Liz Carroll is an Irish-American fiddler and composer. She is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship Award. Carroll and collaborator Irish guitarist John Doyle were nominated for a Grammy Award in 2010. She is considered one of the greatest contemporary Irish fiddlers.

"Fiddlin'" John Carson was an American old-time fiddler and singer who recorded what is widely considered to be the first country music song featuring vocals and lyrics.

Laura Cortese is an American singer, songwriter, and fiddler. She was born in San Francisco and attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she is currently based.

John Henry Creach, better known as Papa John Creach, was an American blues violinist, who also played classical, jazz, R&B, pop and acid rock music. Early in his career, he performed as a journeyman musician with Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Stuff Smith, Charlie Christian, Big Joe Turner, T-Bone Walker, Nat King Cole and Roy Milton.

Mellie Dunham was an American fiddler during the early twentieth century. Dunham was born in Norway, Maine, the son of Alanson Mellen Dunham and Christiana Bent. He came to prominence after he was invited to play for Henry Ford at his house in Dearborn, Michigan. Ford sent a Pullman car for Dunham and his wife, Emma "Gram" Dunham, because of Ford's love of country music. While Ford had invited 38 other fiddlers before Dunham, none received as much attention as Dunham did.

Mark Evitts is an American composer, string arranger, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Evitts has worked with such artists as David Guetta, Cheat Codes (DJs), Train, Blues Traveler, Jewel, Rodney Atkins, The Band Perry, Secondhand Serenade, Katharine McPhee, Bo Bice, Jaida Dreyer, We The Kings, among many others. Evitts also recorded on Joey + Rory's RIAA certified Gold selling album, "Hymns", which earned Evitts two GRAMMY winning certificates for string arranging and violin/viola performance, as well as working with producers Sam Hollander and Josh Edmondson (songwriter) on ten episodes of NBC's SMASH, including the Emmy nominated original song, "I Heard Your Voice In A Dream", and on 2015's Summer Forever soundtrack, distributed by Disney Music Group. Mark also arranged and recorded strings on the Cheat Codes track, "Shed a Light ".

Canray Fontenot was an American Creole fiddle player, who has been described as "the greatest Creole Louisiana French fiddler of our time."

Wilbur Peder Foss was an American businessman, educator and musician. He served as a member of the South Dakota Senate from 1961–1963.

Randall Franks is an American film and television actor, author, and a bluegrass singer and musician who plays fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and mountain dulcimer. He was chosen as the first 2020 AirPlay Direct Evolution Grant Artist (www.AirPlayDirect.com). He was inducted into America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame in 2019; Independent Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013; recognized by the International Bluegrass Music Museum in 2010 as a Bluegrass Legend; inducted into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004; and was designated the "Appalachian Ambassador of the Fiddle". and was recently inducted into the Chamber Business Person Hall of Fame and honored as Patriotic Citizen of the Year in 2020.

Nyman Furr (1949–2007) played fiddle, bass, was a singer and songwriter from Camden, Tennessee. He was also known as The Tennessee Fiddler, and played with The Little Juice Band. This band played many locations in the panhandle area of Florida, including Sil's Place in Ft. Walton Beach, The Bowery in Destin, The Firehouse in Shalimar, and Mr B's Place in DeFuniak Springs, among other places.

Matt Glaser is an American jazz and bluegrass violinist. He served as the chair of the string department at the Berklee College of Music for more than twenty-five years. He is now the founder and artistic director of Berklee's American Roots Music Program.

David Greely is a professional fiddler from south Louisiana.

John Cowan Hartford was an American folk, country, and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive knowledge of Mississippi River lore. His most successful song is "Gentle on My Mind", which won three Grammy Awards and was listed in "BMI's Top 100 Songs of the Century". Hartford performed with a variety of ensembles throughout his career, and is perhaps best known for his solo performances where he would interchange the guitar, banjo, and fiddle from song to song. He also invented his own shuffle tap dance move, and clogged on an amplified piece of plywood while he played and sang.

Hubert Dwane "Hoot" Hester was an American fiddle player, multi-instrumentalist, and country music and bluegrass artist. He was born on a small farm near Louisville, Kentucky, on August 13, 1951. Hester played with a number of well-known bands, and later became a session musician and a longtime member of the Grand Ole Opry's staff band. Hester was also a featured performer at the NAMM Show during the time it was held in Nashville c. 1993 and 2004.

Pawlo Humeniuk June 18, 1883 – January 24, 1965) was a Ukrainian American fiddler from the early 20th century who became one of the biggest stars of the era's ethnic music.

Scott Jeffers Traveler is an American composer, singer, violinist and multi-instrumentalist; he is based in Phoenix, Arizona. He writes, records and performs world music fused with Rock. He is the lead performer of the World Fusion Rock band, Traveler and he performs solo one-man world music showcase. He plays the oud, bouzouki, guitar, and loutar, he has four-octave vocal range.

Max Johnston is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work on fiddle, Dobro, banjo, and mandolin with the bands Uncle Tupelo, Wilco and more recently, The Gourds. Johnston is the younger brother of singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked and has supported her in concert tours as well.

Fats Kaplin is an American musician, born in New York City. He is best known as a fiddler. He also plays guitar, button accordion, banjo, mandolin, steel guitar, an Arab oud, and a Turkish cümbüş, among others. He has worked with artists such as Jack White, Trisha Yearwood, The Tractors, Nanci Griffith, Pure Prairie League, John Prine, Roy Bookbinder and Beck.

Loretta A. Kelley is an American Hardanger fiddle player. She is President of The Hardanger Fiddle Association of America, and is described by her recording company as the foremost Hardanger fiddle player in the U.S.

Danny Knicely is an American country and bluegrass musician. In addition to singing, he plays guitar, fiddle, and mandolin. His album releases include: The Evenin' News, Chop, Shred & Split, Waltz for Aimee, The Melody Lingers, Roots and Branches, and Murders, Drownings and Lost Loves (2006) — which he recorded with Will Lee.

David Perry Lindley is an American musician who founded the band El Rayo-X, and who has worked with many other performers including Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, Curtis Mayfield and Dolly Parton. He has mastered such a wide variety of instruments that Acoustic Guitar magazine referred to Lindley not as a multi-instrumentalist, but instead as a "maxi-instrumentalist."

Bascom Lamar Lunsford was a lawyer, folklorist, and performer of traditional music from western North Carolina. He was often known by the nickname "Minstrel of the Appalachians."

John McCutcheon is an American folk music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has produced 41 albums since the 1970s. He is regarded as a master of the hammered dulcimer, and is also proficient on many other instruments including guitar, banjo, autoharp, mountain dulcimer, fiddle, and Jew's harp. He has received six Grammy Award nominations.

Dennis (Denus) McGee was one of the earliest recorded Cajun musicians.

Clayton McMichen was an American fiddler and country musician.

Bruce C. Molsky is an American fiddler, banjo player, guitarist, and singer. He primarily performs old-time music of the Appalachian region.

Mike Oberst is an American multinstrumentalist, musician, artist and songwriter based in Cincinnati, Ohio, who performs solo and as a member of the band, The Tillers, which he co-founded. As a solo artist he has released two albums and appeared as a guest on Jean Dowell's album, A Place Way Back in Time, which he produced. Additionally, The Tillers have released five studio albums and one concert album. They have performed internationally, including shows with Pokey LaFarge, Justin Townes Earle, Jerry Douglas, Iris Dement, Rev. Horton Heat, Doc Watson, Taj Mahal, Guy Clark, The Hackensaw Boys, Country Joe Mcdonald, Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, Dex Romweber, Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band, The Dirt Daubers and more. Band member Joe Macheret has described their style as a mix of various American Folk styles with pieces of Bluegrass and bits of Jazz and Blues.

Mollie O'Brien is an Americana, bluegrass, R&B, and folk singer from Wheeling, West Virginia. She has released a number of Americana albums with her brother, Grammy-winner Tim O'Brien. She has also released five positively received solo albums. She is currently based in Denver, and regularly tours and performs with her husband, guitarist Rich Moore, as a duo. Together they have released one studio album, Saints and Sinners and a live CD, 900 Baseline. She has regularly appeared on shows such as A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, and contributed vocals to the Grammy-winning album True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe. She is known for her interpretations of classic songs by artists such as Tom Waits, Memphis Minnie, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry, Si Kahn, Terence Trent D'Arby, and Kate MacLeod.

Tim O'Brien is an American country and bluegrass musician. In addition to singing, he plays guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, bouzouki and mandocello. He has released more than ten studio albums, in addition to charting a duet with Kathy Mattea entitled "The Battle Hymn of Love", a No. 9 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts in 1990. In November 2013 he was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.

Peter Ostroushko is an American violinist and mandolinist.

Jane Pratt is the founding editor of Sassy, Jane and xoJane. She is the host of the talk show Jane Radio on Sirius XM Radio.

Donald Eugene Ulrich, best known by the stage name Don Rich, was an American country musician who helped develop the Bakersfield sound in the early 1960s. He was a noted guitarist and fiddler, and a member of The Buckaroos, the backing band of country singer Buck Owens. Rich was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1974 at the age of 32.

Carrie Luz Rodriguez is an American singer-songwriter and the daughter of Texan singer-songwriter David Rodriguez and Texas painter Katy Nail, and is the granddaughter of prolific Texas essayist Frances Nail. She sings and plays the fiddle, mandobird and tenor guitar.

Posey Rorer was an American old-time fiddler who was best known for being a member of the American string band Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers.

Nicky Sanders is a Grammy Award-winning, American fiddle player specializing in Bluegrass music. He is best known for his work with the band Steep Canyon Rangers along with banjo player and comedian Steve Martin. Raised in San Francisco, he began studying classical violin at age of five. At 17, he became concertmaster of the Young People's Symphony Orchestra in Berkeley, California. Later he would graduate Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts earning a BA in Music with a major in performance (violin). Other studies while at Berklee included 20th-century classical music composition and Film Scoring.

Billy Jack Saucier was an acclaimed Grand National Fiddler and a native of Dallas, Texas.

Mike Seeger was an American folk musician and folklorist. He was a distinctive singer and an accomplished musician who played autoharp, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, guitar, mouth harp, mandolin, dobro, jaw harp, and pan pipes. Seeger, a half-brother of Pete Seeger, produced more than 30 documentary recordings, and performed in more than 40 other recordings. He desired to make known the caretakers of culture that inspired and taught him.

Jilson Setters, who was also known to perform under the monikers Blind Bill Day and the "Singin' Fiddler of Lost Hope Hollow", was an American folk singer and fiddle player. Setters was discovered by folklorist Jean Bell Thomas, who fabricated a persona for him, arranged recording sessions with RCA Records, and promoted him around the U.S. and England until the late-1930s.

Amanda Christian Amaya-Shaw is an American Cajun fiddler, singer, and actress from Mandeville, Louisiana.

Arnold Shultz (1886–1931) was an American fiddler and guitarist who is noted as a major influence in the development of the "thumb-style," or "Travis picking" method of playing guitar.

Mary Ellen Simpson is an American professional violinist, mostly noted for her work with Yanni, Gary Ruley and Mule Train and Walker's Run. She is a founding member of The Whiskey Rebellion band.

Fiddlin' Arthur Smith was an American old time fiddler and a major influence on the old time and bluegrass music genres.

James Gideon "Gid" Tanner was an American old-time fiddler and one of the earliest stars of what would come to be known as country music. His band, the Skillet Lickers, was one of the most innovative and influential string bands of the 1920s and 1930s. Its most notable members were Clayton McMichen, Dan Hornsby (vocals), Riley Puckett and Robert Lee Sweat (guitar).

Joseph Aquiler Thompson was an American old-time fiddle player, and one of the last musicians to carry on the black string band tradition. Accompanied by his cousin Odell, Thompson was recognized with several honors for performances of the old-time style, particularly when the genre was repopularized in the 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, he recorded his first studio albums, consisting of a repertoire rooted in the authentic string band approach.

Ruth Ungar Merenda was born February 19, 1976, in Mount Kisco, New York. She is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who plays fiddle, ukulele and guitar. She is the daughter of fiddler/composer Jay Ungar and singer Lyn Hardy and a graduate of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.

Laura Weber White', is an American country fiddler, singer, songwriter and guitar player. White is a prominent fiddler and guitar player who has been a session musician on many albums and toured with a number of artists. She has made two solo albums: in 2003, Among My Souvenirs and in 2010 Awake But Dreaming, both were recorded at the Cash Cabin Studio.

Ralph E. White III is a musician from Austin, Texas who has drawn inspiration from traditional blues, old-time country, rock, African and Cajun music, among other traditions. He principally plays banjo, fiddle, accordion, guitar, kalimba and mbira. He was a founding member of the innovative and influential Austin trio the Bad Livers, formed in 1990 with banjoist and singer/songwriter Danny Barnes and bass and tuba player Mark Rubin. During the early 1990s, "White's sizzling dexterity on fiddle and accordion" was a "cornerstone of their buzz." After leaving the Bad Livers in late 1996, White embarked on a solo career. Since then, he has become a legendary Austin musician, and was chosen by Kevin Curtin of the Austin Chronicle as the best strings player of 2015. While the style of music he plays is difficult to categorize, No Depression concluded that "White has invented a type of music that sounds traditional while also being refreshingly new."

Gabriel "Gabe" Witcher is a Grammy award winning American multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, and arranger, best known as a fiddle player and singer. He is a founding member of the string ensemble Punch Brothers. Witcher and his fellow Punch Brothers won the 2019 Grammy for Best Folk Album and were named Affiliate Scholars of Oberlin Conservatory in 2014.