New Acoustic Masters: Freeman, de Groot, Bachand, Linthicum

For lovers of folk, old-time, bluegrass, Celtic, and roots music, this is a rare chance to hear four of the finest musicians in the country sharing one stage.

New Acoustic Masters: Freeman, de Groot, Bachand, Linthicum Allison de Groot - banjo, Trent Freeman - fiddle Quinn Bachand & Clayton Linthicum - guitars

This is high-level acoustic music with real heart: fiery fiddling, inventive banjo, masterful guitar work, and the feeling of hearing Canada’s musical past come vividly alive in the present. For lovers of folk, old-time, bluegrass, Celtic, and roots music, this is a rare chance to hear four of the finest musicians in the country sharing one stage.

The night begins with Clayton Linthicum and Quinn Bachand, an intimate duo set rooted in the songs and fiddle traditions of Western Canada. Best known from the internationally acclaimed Saskatchewan duo Kacy & Clayton, Clayton brings the unmistakable guitar style and prairie sensibility that has earned JUNO nominations, a Canadian Folk Music Award win, Polaris recognition, and collaborations with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. Paired with GRAMMY-nominated multi-instrumentalist Quinn Bachand, the duo moves through rare tunes, old prairie songs, Métis melodies, and frontier ballads from Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, delivered with warmth, groove, and deep musical chemistry.

After intermission, the stage opens up into a dream trio: Trent Freeman, Allison de Groot, and Quinn Bachand.

With a JUNO win and multiple Canadian Folk Music Awards through The Fretless, Trent Freeman is one of Canada’s most celebrated fiddlers, while Allison de Groot, winner of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize for Excellence in Banjo, is widely regarded as one of the most innovative clawhammer banjo players in North America. Together with Quinn, they dive headfirst into a thrilling set of old Canadian dance tunes and forgotten regional melodies from BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Québec.