The Violin Shop is a well-established music outlet on Old Hickory Boulevard in Nashville, Tennessee, owned by Fred Carpenter. He has been a violin/fiddle player for over 42 years and has over 27 years of experience in the violin and bow trade, including years at the workbench.

Carpenter has worked with the Tony Rice Unit and with Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band. He is a recording artist in his own right.

In Spring 2005, Carpenter built a 50-seat concert room onto the side of his shop. In the Fall of that year he began promoting a series of concerts featuring, what else, fiddle players, and top names have rosined a bow there too. All concerts have been recorded on video.

It is the product of some of these first recordings that is featured on the first of the Fiddler Masters DVDs.

Appearing on this collection are Andy Leftwich (of Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder), old-time fiddle master Bruce Molsky, Jim VanCleve (of Mountain Heart), Bobby Hicks (possibly the top single fiddler to play both the bluegrass and western swing styles) and Aubrey Haynie (a regular with The Time Jumpers, a group made up of touring and studio musicians who enjoy jamming with each other at the Station Inn).

Molsky plays five pieces solo, including Last Of Gallahan and Peg & Awl, both on the fiddle, but switches to guitar for the tune Brothers & Sisters and the song Poor Cowboy. I cannot say how it was on the night that Molsky appeared at The Violin Shop, but the guitar interludes provide an enjoyable variation within the context of the video.

The other four fiddlers appear accompanied by their own pick-up band chosen from Byron House, Cody Kilby, Wyatt Rice, Charlie Cushman, Alan Bibey, Adam Steffey, Kent Blanton, Clay Jones, Ron Stewart, Jason Moore and Steve Gulley. It would be unfair to single out any of the support musicians for praise; all shine very brightly. While the setting is a showcase for fiddlers, each person called upon to take a break shows how superb they are at their craft.

VanCleve steps into spotlight on four occasions, performing his own #6 Barn Dance, the rollicking opener, Ride The Wild Turkey, and a barn-storming version of Big Mon. (more…)

Multi-instrumentalist Bruce Molsky will be the featured guest on this week’s edition of Old Time Jam with Hubie King on BluegrassCountry.org.

Bruce spends an hour with Hubie talking about his music, and sharing a number of songs on fiddle, banjo and guitar – Bonapart’s Retreat, Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie, Roustabout, Ragtime Annie and Arkansas Traveler.

Old Time Jam airs tonight (1/14) at 6:00 p.m. (EST) and again on Thursday morning (1/17) at 6:00 a.m., online at BluegrassCountry.org and on WAMU 88.5 Channel 2 on HD Radio in the DC radio market.

When Nickel Creek performs live tonight (11/2) at Washington DC nightspot 9:30 Club, National Public Radio’s microphones will be set up, carrying the entire concert live via online streaming at NPR.org.

The band is in the home stretch of their Farewell (For Now) tour, after which the three members (Chris Thile, Sean Watkins and Sara Watkins) will go their separate ways, pursuing other musical ventures. Thile has been recording with his new group, Punch Brothers, and the Watkins sibs have done shows with The Watkins Family Hour, and Sara has started work on a solo project.

This evening’s concert begins at 9:30 p.m. (ET) and will feature Nickel Creek with special guest, Bruce Molsky. Live streaming will be available at npr.org.

Speaking on Nickel Creek… We have been told that the band’s two final concerts – 11/28-29 at The Ryman in Nashville – will be filmed for a concert DVD, expected in 2008 from Sugar Hill Records.