Bruce Molsky (born 1955) is a New York City native who became the leading old-time fiddler of his generation. He learned from source players like Tommy Jarrell, won the Clifftop fiddle contest in 1999, and has carried Appalachian fiddle tunes to stages in Europe and beyond for more than 25 years. He earned a Grammy nomination with Fiddlers 4 in 2002 and teaches as a visiting scholar in Berklee College of Music’s American Roots Music Program.
Why Molsky matters
Molsky proved that a city kid could learn old-time fiddle from the old players themselves and then play it well enough to stand beside them. He sings while he fiddles, plays banjo and guitar at the same level, and treats a Kentucky breakdown and a Norwegian dance tune as the same job. His fiddling is the reference point for younger old-time players, and his students include Brittany Haas and Amy Alvey.
Life and career
Molsky was born in 1955 in New York City. As a teenager he found blues on a Mississippi delta LP from a Bronx record store. In 1972 he went to Cornell University in Ithaca to study engineering, and there he heard old-time music for the first time. In 1976 he visited Tommy Jarrell in North Carolina, and the Round Peak style shaped his playing from then on.
He made his first record with banjo player Bob Carlin, Take Me As I Am (1989), followed by Warring Cats (1993). His solo career took off on Rounder with Lost Boy (1996), Bruce Molsky and Big Hoedown (1997), Poor Man’s Troubles (2000), and Contented Must Be (2004). Poor Man’s Troubles won the AFIM Indie award for Best Traditional Folk Recording in 2001. In 1999 he entered the fiddle contest at the Appalachian String Band Music Festival in Clifftop, West Virginia, and took first place, listed as Bruce Molsky of Arlington, Virginia.
In 2002 he recorded Fiddlers 4 with Darol Anger, Cajun fiddler Michael Doucet, and cellist Rushad Eggleston. The album earned a Grammy nomination. That same year he became a founding member of Mozaik with Irish musicians Andy Irvine and Dónal Lunny. The group released Live at the Powerhouse in 2004 and made three records. He also played on the BBC series Transatlantic Sessions with Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas, recorded with Norwegian fiddler Annbjørg Lien, and appeared on Mark Knopfler’s album Tracker. His Civil War song album 1865 with the vocal group Anonymous 4 reached the Billboard top ten.
If It Ain’t Here When I Get Back (2013) is a solo record on fiddle, banjo, and guitar. He formed Molsky’s Mountain Drifters with banjo player Allison de Groot and guitarist Stash Wyslouch, both Berklee alumni, and the trio released a self-titled album in 2016 and Closing the Gap in 2019. Everywhere You Go (2022) is a solo guitar album. Lockdown Breakdown (2024) is a fiddle duet record with Darol Anger. He is based in Beacon, New York, and teaches at Berklee.
Playing style
Molsky plays old-time fiddle the way the source recordings sound, with a driving, rhythmic bow and the drone of open strings under the melody. He learned the Round Peak bowing from Jarrell: short strokes, a heavy shuffle, and accents that make the tune dance without a guitar. He plays in the old cross tunings and keeps the bow close to the strings so the sound is dry and full of pulse.
What sets him apart from most revival fiddlers is that he sings over that bowing, and the fiddle never loses the beat under the words. Years in Mozaik and with Norwegian players added Irish and Nordic ornaments to his Appalachian tunes. His tone is rough on purpose. He wants the tune to sound like it came off a porch, not a stage.
Influences and legacy
Tommy Jarrell is the first name. Molsky also learned from other older southern players he sought out in person, and from decades of listening to old recordings. He has played beside Darol Anger, Michael Doucet, Aly Bain, Andy Irvine, and Tony Trischka. As a teacher he has shaped a generation. Brittany Haas switched to fiddle full time after hearing him play, and Amy Alvey studied with him at Berklee. He produced The Back of Winter for fiddler Adrianna Ciccone, which won her Instrumentalist of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2015.
Signature tunes and songs
Cotton Eyed Joe Arkansas Traveler Bonaparte’s Retreat The Golden Willow Tree.
Essential recordings
Lost Boy (Rounder, 1996) Poor Man’s Troubles (Rounder, 2000) Fiddlers 4, with Darol Anger, Michael Doucet, and Rushad Eggleston (2002) Contented Must Be (Rounder, 2004) If It Ain’t Here When I Get Back (2013)
Awards and honors
Clifftop fiddle contest, first place, Appalachian String Band Music Festival (1999) AFIM Indie Award, Best Traditional Folk Recording, Poor Man’s Troubles (2001) Grammy nomination, with Fiddlers 4 (2002)
Watch and listen
Molsky plays and sings Cotton Eyed Joe solo at a festival in England in 2015. Watch the bow arm keep the dance beat while he sings.
What to learn from Molsky
Learn Cotton Eyed Joe from his solo version and sing the words while you play. Get the fiddle part automatic first, then add the vocal. The technique to steal is his bow rhythm. Old-time drive comes from the right arm, not the left hand. Play a simple tune with a steady down-up shuffle, lean on the downbeat, and let the open string next to the melody ring. That is the sound Molsky learned from Tommy Jarrell, and it makes a fiddle carry a dance with no band at all.
Sources
Bruce Molsky, bio, brucemolsky.com Bruce Molsky, music, brucemolsky.com Bruce Molsky, Berklee College of Music Bruce Molsky, Compass Records 1999 contest winners, Appalachian String Band Music Festival, West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History Bruce Molsky on BluegrassCountry.org, Bluegrass Today Bruce Molsky, Wikipedia Bruce Molsky, Lost Boy, Discogs Bruce Molsky, Poor Man’s Troubles, Discogs
Related players
See the fiddle players hub and the fiddle guide for more old-time and crossover fiddlers. Molsky learned from Tommy Jarrell and records with Darol Anger. His students Brittany Haas and Amy Alvey carry his approach into new music, and Erynn Marshall and John Showman followed him as Clifftop champions.