RAYMOND — Franco American fiddlers Don and Cindy Roy, who were honored by the National Endowment for the Arts earlier this year, will perform, along with Erica Brown and Matt Shipman, in Raymond on Saturday. Jan. 5.
The group, Side by Each, will perform a night of Franco-American fiddling with a touch of bluegrass at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, at Raymond Village Community Church, 27 Maine St.
Doors will open at 7 p.m., and there will be a short intermission and refreshments will be served. The event is sponsored by the Raymond Arts Alliance, the same group that coordinated the New England Jazz Band concert at Hackers Hill in Casco in July. There is a suggested donation of $10.
Don Roy is a champion fiddler with depth in many styles, with roots in New England, Quebec and the Canadian Maritimes. He has been a pivotal member of many groups, including the Maine French Fiddlers and Fiddle-icious, and currently performs internationally with the Don Roy Ensemble. He also crafts violins, violas, cellos and basses for musicians influenced by the methods of the Italian master luthiers.
Cindy Roy, a former member of the Maine French Fiddlers, is well known for her step dancing piano accompaniment which is among the best in New England. She grew up immersed in the melodies and rhythms of Franco-American music; her grandparents came to Maine from Prince Edward Island. Although she – like Don – began to play music on the guitar, she quickly turned to piano. Her accompaniment is fluid and rhythmic and provides a perfect foil to Don’s virtuosic fiddling.
Brown began fiddling at a very early age and she performs all over New England, although her roots are Lewiston. Her husband, Shipman, performs and teaches acoustic and traditional music and plays a variety of stringed instruments.
Following the fiddle contest years, the Roys pursued other avenues for their music, both locally and on the broader stage. From 1988 to 1996 they led the Maine French Fiddlers, performing at festivals and venues such as Wolf Trap, the National Folk Festival, Carnegie Hall, and National Public Radio’s “A Prairie Home Companion.” They now perform as the Don Roy Trio, with longtime musical collaborator Jay Young on upright bass, at a range of venues, large and small, local and national. Don has also received three Individual Artist Fellowships from the Maine Arts Commission and the Harold Carter Memorial Award from the Down East Country Music Association.
