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The Bandolins are a string band based in New Fairfield, Connecticut, just north of the slightly more bustling city of Danbury - Hat City. Their music is primarily instrumental, and their repertoire consists mainly of traditional Appalachian American folk and fiddle tunes from the 19th and early 20th centuries, old tyme fiddle tunes, as well as some newer bluegrass tunes made famous in this century by the classic family and brother bands. Their style is unique, however, and, while they pay tribute and homage to tradition, you will definitely hear the influence of rock & roll, blues and jazz creeping its way in from time to time. Expect to hear romping rags, high-spirited hornpipes and rollicking reels.
The Story The founding members of the Bandolins started out doing rock and roll covers purely for fun. But when then-bassist John disappeared for a few weeks, it seemed the fun was over. Then one night, John returned with a banjo in place of his bass, and thus began the transformation toward an older and simpler form of music. Guitarist Doug Spaulding hung up his guitar for a mandolin, and Larry Brish swapped his electric guitar for the acoustic. The trio found themselves starting from scratch, learning from the traditional American folk songbook. Soon the group was joined by Ralph Volpe on violin, Jamie Doris on bass and Susan Spaulding on percussion. Erick Feucht came on board as part-time fiddler shortly thereafter.
Having filled in the blanks with a few new musicians, and after putting
in some time getting to know the old tymey songs that make up the foundation
of American roots music, the band has just begun to bring their sound
to the people, to share with them the joy and the message the band has
found in this music.
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News
Going into the studio this morning to record a 1 hour show for New Fairfield Channel 17. We're featuring Niles Spaulding, Doug & Susan's son, on bass. He's a natural!
Wishing everyone a happy and peaceful holiday season.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ralph Volpe (and his family), whose wife, Claire, lost her long battle with illness.
Well, Spring is here and the weather is improving daily. The parties are piling up again and the music is back in full swing. We're booking now for Summer and Fall/harvest events. We've received a number of emails and we always respond, but if you haven't heard back yet, please try calling. The number's scattered all over the site. Or just be sure to leave a phone number in your message and we'll get back ASAP.
Winter. Bleh. Happy Mardi Gras! Spring can't be too far off.
Planning a holiday party, for the family, your friends, or at the office? The Bandolins are booking now for Christmas celebrations! Each year during the holiday season, we play a number of events that include your favorite Christmas carols and yuletide melodies. We have a few standing yearly engagements where we provide the songsheets for everybody to sing along. A bluegrass Christmas is the best kind, and more fun than trimming the tree with Bing Crosby (not that we don't like Bing).
As summer winds down maybe we can all start to wind down with it. Seems like it's been a busy one for everybody. Just want to let y'all know that we finally dusted off the schedule page and cleared off some old dates. Got a few new ones in there as well. We just added 2 dates at Larson's Farm. This promises to be a good time. They have TWO enormous corn mazes, hayrides, pony rides, face painting, and a whole bunch of other family-friendly activities going on during the coming harvest season. We might add a few more days there in the near future. Be sure and come by. Sounds like fun!
Summertime is here. BBQs. Fireworks. Dog days. Sweltering nights. Hot dogs. Apple pie. And music -- lots and lots of music. Things have been real busy for this bass player, and for most of us it seems. So we've been slow to update the site. Between the birthdays and the holidays and the family get-togethers it's all you can do just to remember to breathe. But along with all that comes lots of pickin'.
March! St. Patrick's Day. Music from the Emerald Isle. We'll be working on some new ones. Throwing a St. Patty's party? We're available!