STOP FRETTING
Fiddle foes join forces
T hough players come from every province and territory, the Canadian fiddle community is surprisingly tight-knit. Members of the multi-city group The Fretless are former competitors who joined forces to perform and record fiddle music of all genres.
The group, which includes former Saskatonian Karrnnel Sawitsky, won the 2012 western Canadian Music Award for Instrumental Album of the Year and the 2012 Canadian Folk Music Awards for Instrumental Group and Ensemble of the Year for its debut album. The Fretless recently released its self-titled followup, which merges the members’ love of traditional fiddle tunes with classical, pop and global sounds. There’s even a Radiohead cover in there.
The Fretless also features fiddlers Trent Freeman and Ivonne Hernandez. Vermont-born cellist Eric Wright completes the quartet.