There are moments when watching Allison de Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves perform that you'll be grooving to the music, and then all of a sudden you stop. No warning. Your foot stops tapping. Your head stops bobbing. Your mouth stops ... being closed. These are the moments when the duo leaves you slackjawed by their brilliance and mastery of the five-string fiddle and five-string banjo.
I experienced several of these moments last night at the historic G.A.R. Hall in Peninsula, Ohio, nestled within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Northeast Ohio, where de Groot and Hargreaves put on a mesmerizing two-hour concert on a frosty, winter evening.
De Groot and Hargreaves played two hour-long sets, with a brief intermission and an encore, playing through a good chunk of their 2019 debut album, as well as a number of tunes they had recently composed and arranged during a creative residency program sponsored by the Peninsula Foundation, which organized the concert as part of its Voices in the Valley series.
As someone who spends plenty of time abusing banjos and fiddles, you'd think I might be able to watch two great players and pick up a tip or two. Instead, I was left mostly bewildered by how de Groot and Hargreaves could coax such hypnotic sounds from their instruments, and often with blinding speed.
Hargreaves' bowing especially left me gobsmacked by her string crossings, bow rocking, sweeps and pivots, all done with expert precision. Meanwhile, de Groot set the pace, alternating between matching the fiddle note for note and exploring harmonic counter melodies.
While de Groot and Hargreaves displayed plenty of expertise on their instruments, I was surprised by how strong their singing was. Mind you, their vocals are strong on their album, but in person there is so much more power behind their voices than I expected. Their harmonies were tight all night, likely honed over the past year of recording and touring together.
What an utter delight it was to witness de Groot and Hargreaves in concert. If you have the opportunity to catch these two live at a concert venue near year, I suggest you do so. You won't be disappointed. You can buy their album at their Bandcamp page.
De Groot and Hargreaves played two hour-long sets, with a brief intermission and an encore, playing through a good chunk of their 2019 debut album, as well as a number of tunes they had recently composed and arranged during a creative residency program sponsored by the Peninsula Foundation, which organized the concert as part of its Voices in the Valley series.
As someone who spends plenty of time abusing banjos and fiddles, you'd think I might be able to watch two great players and pick up a tip or two. Instead, I was left mostly bewildered by how de Groot and Hargreaves could coax such hypnotic sounds from their instruments, and often with blinding speed.
While de Groot and Hargreaves displayed plenty of expertise on their instruments, I was surprised by how strong their singing was. Mind you, their vocals are strong on their album, but in person there is so much more power behind their voices than I expected. Their harmonies were tight all night, likely honed over the past year of recording and touring together.
What an utter delight it was to witness de Groot and Hargreaves in concert. If you have the opportunity to catch these two live at a concert venue near year, I suggest you do so. You won't be disappointed. You can buy their album at their Bandcamp page.
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