About Janie Rothfield and Allan Carr
JANIE ROTHFIELD & ALLAN CARR: Scottish and American Old Time Music-Old and New!
NEW RECORDING JUST OUT BY JANIE AND ALLAN!
”THE TWO OF US” featuring 12 tracks of songs and tunes from Janie and Allan’s repertoire of American Old Time and Scottish Music!
Award winning fiddler Janie Rothfield and husband Scottish singer and guitarist Allan Carr have been playing and recording their unique blend of Celtic and Appalachian music for over 40 years! Janie and Allan play roots music that is directly from the source while expanding on that tradition with newly composed songs and tunes. They blend their love of traditional music as well as their own compositions to present a concert that weaves a musical story from both sides of the Atlantic and is always fun!
Great singing, hot instrumentals and with Allan’s humor, always a whole lot of fun! They have over a dozen recordings to their credit and have a new Duo recording coming out in Summer of 2024, featuring their signature unique sound that blends the old with the new and back again!
Since meeting in 1978 when Janie was at college in Aberdeen, Scotland (they met at a folk music concert Allan was singing at), Janie and Allan have played and taught at festivals, concerts, workshops and music camps throughout the USA and Europe-including Edinburgh Folk Festival, Glasgow Folk Festival, Old Songs Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival, New Bedford Summer Fest, Portsoy Traditional Music Festival, Great Lakes Music Festival, Earful of Fiddle, Southern Maryland Celtic Festival, Fiddle Hell and more!
Below are some video links showing the variety of our music. Enjoy!
· Way Down The River: Lyrics Allan Carr/Tune Janie Rothfield
· The Candleight: Lyrics Marion Angus (Scottish Poet)/Tune Janie Rothfield
· Idlewild Irish Jig
· Candy Girl: Old Time Tune from Uncle Bunt Stephens
About Allan Carr
Allan grew up with traditional music (his grandfather was a piper, sisters played fiddle, accordion and piano, and the family sang many traditional songs together) and heard, learned from, and sang with epic traditional singers such as Jimmy McBeath, Stanley Robertson, Lizzie Higgins, Tom Spiers, Jimmy Hutchison to name a few! Allan won numerous TMSA contests for traditional singing and has also penned his own songs in the traditional style. He is extremely knowledgeable about the history and background to his songs from social and economic perspectives and is an interesting and interactive teacher. He also focuses on helping students with their traditional singing techniques and artistic interpretation of the songs.
In addition to his solo, Allan has played and recorded with Janie in numerous bands including HADDEN, ROTHFIELD & CARR (with Silly Wizards Martin Hadden), RED HEN (with David Kiphuth and Linda Schrade) and CORACREE (with Sarah Gowan and Bill Quern).
Here are a few of the Scottish Music topics he has taught at festivals and camps such as John C Campbell Folk School and Swannanoa. He can go into depth as needed!
· "Love, Lust and Longing". An examination of these themes in traditional Scots Song, using source recordings, transcriptions, and examples. Attendees will be encouraged to bring songs to be discussed and sung through.
· "Land and Sea” Songs and Bothy ballads of the rural agrarian culture of the northeast of Scotland, and the fishing and whaling songs from that region.
· "The bloody wars" Songs of clan and religious strife, piracy, mercenary soldiering, battles and skirmishes!
Allan can also lead discussions in all classes about the Scots language, the meaning and historical/political context behind some of the words and phrases used in songs and ballads.
There's no requirement for any instrumental or musical knowledge for these classes, just an interest in Scottish traditional music. Allan will be provide transcripts of the lyrics, possibly with a melody included, along with a glossary of the common Scots words used in the songs.
ABOUT JANIE ROTHFIELD
Janie Rothfield is a power-house American fiddler, clawhammer banjo and guitar player and singer who is widely recognized for her traditional and inventive style, in the pocket rhythm, whimsical groove and her award-winning original tunes. She is a full-time touring musician playing concerts, workshops, festivals, and dances around the world and online. Janie has been performing, recording, and teaching music that is rooted in Traditional American and Celtic Music since her teens when she started playing with older generation musicians from New England, North Carolina, and Quebec. With over 15 recordings to her credit, Janie has traveled the world with her unique brand of traditional based music including the UK, France, Germany, Holland, Australia, Canada and throughout the USA. Janie is also the founder and director (and instructor) of Janie’s Jumpstart Home Based Weekend Music Camps held in homes around the world!
Janie currently performs as a solo artist and with duo with Scottish Singer/Guitarist ALLAN CARR (her husband), THE IDUMEA QUARTET (innovative European based experimental old time string quartet) and Philly based CORACREE with Allan, Sarah Gowan and Bill Quern-(Contra Dance and Folk Band), and with Celtic Fiddle Festival Breton fiddler YUNA LEON. She was also part of the four fiddle quartet, PANACHE, with Donna Hebert, Veronique Plasse, and Andrea Beaton.
Janie’s teaching focuses mostly on the Old-Time fiddle styles and repertoire, and she is a master at helping fiddlers add rhythm, groove, swing, and drive to their bowing and playing. She can teach all levels for Old Time Fiddle, Clawhammer Banjo and Old Time back up guitar with a variety of Old Time repertoire from different fiddlers, regions and styles.
