Nora Brown & Stephanie Coleman

About

Nora Brown is the "brightest young star in old-time music" Songlines, playing traditional music focused on southern Appalachian banjo and guitar, with her singing revealing her "thirst for storytelling." NPR. She digs deep: "a reverent nod to deeply-rooted ole-time traditions, and an exhibit of sonic heirlooms carefully amended to meet a modern moment with vintage elegance." American Songwriter. The New Yorker called her most recent solo record Long Time To Be Gone "a disarming collection of traditional laments and exquisite banjo instrumentals."

Nora will perform in a duo with award-winning fiddler Stephanie Coleman. First brought together by Brooklyn's tight-knit old-time music community, Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman share a rich musical partnership that belies their 20-year age difference. Stephanie is a master old-time fiddler, having recorded with and toured internationally over the last two decades with celebrated artists, including trailblazing all-women string band Uncle Earl.

Beginning at age 6, under the tutelage of the late musician and scholar Shlomo Pestcoe, Brown also counts Alice Gerrard, George Gibson, and the late John Cohen, Lee Sexton, and John Haywood among her teachers and mentors. Just nineteen years old, Brown has released three albums, a single, and an EP on Jalopy Records – all of which have charted on the Billboard Bluegrass Charts during the first week of release. Across each haunting collection of traditional music, Brown's playing is lucid, confident, and full of grace.

She has toured across the US, Europe, and Japan, playing renowned festivals including the Newport Folk Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival, Roskilde Festival in Denmark, Winnipeg Folk Festival, and Live Magic! in Tokyo. She has performed on NPR's Tiny Desk twice, TED Salon, WNYC's Dolly Parton's America and an official showcase at the 2022 Americana Fest in Nashville.

"Some of the most interesting and haunting traditional music we've heard… impossibly talented… One thing that I really loved about both your albums is that both your banjo technique and your vocals are amazing. You seem to be mining these old songs with emotions far beyond your years." – Jason Verlinde, Fretboard Journal

"A disarming collection of traditional laments and exquisite banjo instrumentals." – The New Yorker