Ben Plotnick is a Canadian-born fiddler based in Nashville. He plays fiddle and viola in the Fretless, the Canadian string quartet that won the Juno Award for Instrumental Album of the Year in 2017, and he is half of the duo Oliver the Crow. As a session player he has recorded on more than 100 albums.
Why Plotnick matters
Most fiddlers pick a lane. Plotnick plays bluegrass with the Slocan Ramblers, chamber arrangements with the Fretless, and string duo music with a cellist, and he plays them with the same hands. The Fretless took fiddle tunes and rebuilt them as string quartet music, with two fiddles, a viola, and a cello covering rhythm, chop, and melody at once. For a jammer, his work shows how a fiddle can hold down the groove when there is no guitar in the room.
Life and career
Plotnick was born in Canada. He has appeared as a classical soloist with professional orchestras. He moved into folk and bluegrass through the Canadian roots scene and played with the Slocan Ramblers, the Boxcar Boys, the Andrew Collins Trio, and the Double Cuts.
He joined the Fretless, the quartet of Trent Freeman, Karrnnel Sawitsky, Eric Wright, and himself. The band released Waterbound in 2012 and won Canadian Folk Music Awards for Instrumental Group of the Year and Ensemble of the Year. The self-titled second album came out in 2014 and won Ensemble of the Year again. Bird’s Nest followed in 2016 and won the Juno for Instrumental Album of the Year at the 2017 awards. Live from the Art Farm (2018) earned a second Juno nomination, and Open House (2021), which added guest singers, was nominated for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year in 2022. The band’s sixth album, Glasswing, came out on September 13, 2024.
Plotnick moved to Nashville and formed Oliver the Crow, a fiddle and cello duo with Kaitlyn Raitz. NPR called the pairing an inspired collaboration. In 2021 he released madison archives, a fiddle and banjo duo album with Frank Evans that earned a Juno nomination and a Canadian Folk Music Award for Instrumental Album of the Year. His solo album Greenland, co-produced with Andrew Collins, mixes original songs and instrumentals. A later solo project, One Person Twin Fiddles, has him playing both parts of twin fiddle arrangements. He has produced eight records.
Playing style
Plotnick’s classical background shows in his tone and his viola work. In the Fretless he switches between fiddle and viola, and the group leans on the chop, a percussive bow stroke that turns the strings into a drum kit. Their arrangements stack rhythm, harmony, and melody across four bowed instruments, so every player has to keep time as well as play the tune.
In bluegrass settings he plays straight. His Beaumont Rag and his Monroe tunes with the Slocan Ramblers use clean shuffle bowing and double stops without the chamber tricks. That ability to turn the arranging off is what keeps him on call for sessions.
Influences and legacy
Plotnick’s closest musical partners are his Fretless bandmates Trent Freeman and Karrnnel Sawitsky, two of the strongest Canadian fiddlers of their generation. He has recorded with the Slocan Ramblers and with mandolinist Andrew Collins. With banjo player Frank Evans and cellist Kaitlyn Raitz he has built two duo projects that show how a fiddle sounds with only one other string instrument.
Signature tunes and songs
Beaumont Rag Red Prairie Dawn Bury Me Beneath the Willow Blackberry Blossom Lost Lake.
Essential recordings
Waterbound, the Fretless (2012) Bird’s Nest, the Fretless (2016) madison archives, with Frank Evans (2021) Glasswing, the Fretless (Birthday Cake Records, 2024)
Awards and honors
Canadian Folk Music Award, Instrumental Group of the Year and Ensemble of the Year, the Fretless, Waterbound (2012) Canadian Folk Music Award, Ensemble of the Year, the Fretless, The Fretless Juno Award, Instrumental Album of the Year, the Fretless, Bird’s Nest (2017) Juno nomination, Instrumental Album of the Year, the Fretless, Live from the Art Farm (2019) Juno nomination, Contemporary Roots Album of the Year, the Fretless, Open House (2022) Juno nomination and Canadian Folk Music Award, Instrumental Album of the Year, with Frank Evans, madison archives
Watch and listen
Plotnick plays Beaumont Rag solo. Listen to the swing in the bow and the double stops in the second part.
Oliver the Crow plays Bury Me Beneath the Willow. Watch how the cello takes the guitar’s job.
What to learn from Plotnick
Learn Beaumont Rag from his solo video. It is a Texas swing standard, and his version keeps the rag feel without extra notes. The technique to steal is the chop. Turn the bow so the hair lands near the frog on beats two and four, with a short, muted crunch and no pitch. Practice it on a slow tune while a friend plays the melody. Once you can chop in time, you can back a singer at a jam when the guitars go home.
Sources
Bio, Ben Plotnick Ben Plotnick The Fretless, Wikipedia Bio, the Fretless The Fretless Ben Plotnick, Discogs
Related players
See the fiddle players hub and the fiddle guide for more. His bandmates Trent Freeman and Karrnnel Sawitsky have their own pages. Casey Driessen is the chop innovator to study next. Patrick M’Gonigle is another Canadian-raised fiddler working out of Nashville.