Roots Roadshow Live from the Red Room

Tune in to birnCORE on Monday, March 11 at 8:00 P.M. for the monthly Roots Roadshow event, live from the Red Room at Cafe 939.

The event features a collection of fantastic performances from students in the American Roots Music Program. The artistic validity of a wide range of American roots styles—including blues, gospel, folk, early country music, bluegrass, old-time, western swing, polka, and tex-mex—is beyond dispute. This music is the lifeblood of America’s cultural heritage. The expressive urgency and depth of these styles are supported by strong fundamental musical values, and it is in recognition of the richness of these idioms, and of the ways that they fuse with contemporary elements, that Berklee has created the American Roots Music Program.

This month’s event features Louise Bichan and Ethan Setiawan.

Taught by top Orkney fiddler Douglas Montgomery, Bichan has been playing since she was 7 years old. While studying visual communications at Glasgow School of Art, she honed her musicianship amid the Scottish city’s world-famous session scene, performing with rising stars Rachel Sermanni and Fara before earning a scholarship to Berklee College of Music.

Setiawan is a Boston, Massachusetts–based mandolin player who has won the National Mandolin Championship and the RockyGrass Mandolin Championship. A member of Corner House, Mudskippers, and the Harmolodic String Band, he also freelances with musicians such as Darol Anger and Tony Trischka. An involved member of the Boston alt/bluegrass scene, his debut album is composed of original tunes that draw upon traditional bluegrass, Bach partitas, free jazz, and more.

Click here to listen to birnCORE!