#fiddle wave

[fiddlewave]

Josef Szalai, hungarian Romani fiddler/violinist performing Czardas. Enjoy a glass of wine with the wonderful singer as you watch this video. Cheers🥂

[fiddlewave]

Ashley MacIsaac with the Chieftains, 1997, Japan

The odd thing about youtube fiddling culture, is that the videos and modern fiddlers are very wavey. Today, as some types of fiddling are being lost to the ages, this blog presents old fiddling videos from the 90s and early 2000s and maybe some old-time fiddling too. Of course, fiddlewave is not real a real “wave” of music, just a catchy name. So, to truly show you the premise of this blog we will begin with one of the most iconic fiddlers of all time, Ashley MacIsaac.

In this video, Ashley is playing a set of standard Cape Breton (in Nova Scotia) style fiddling songs, notably Tullochgorum. 

Ashley MacIsaac fuses multiple genres of music with the traditional Cape Breton fiddle, especially grunge and rock music. He is most well known for his album hi how are you today? for its excellent blend of traditional fiddle and rock music.

Many consider MacIsaac to truly represent Canadian music. As you watch this old VHS video, take note of his wacky camouflage t shirt, his playfulness on stage, and his focus on his performance as the Chieftains watch him with respect. Though it is important to note MacIsaac’s Cape Breton-ness, his gayness shows through too. That’s not really a stereotype, I am just stating a fact... Ashley MacIsaac, a gay Cape Bretoner, represents Canadian music.

I wonder what is the influence gay culture has had on MacIsaac’s music. As a gay fiddler myself, I wonder if in 50 years, gay fiddle music will start to take form. As many people focus on preserving traditional fiddling, which is extremely important, I also wonder how fiddling music will evolve.

So, I suppose that’s what fiddlewave is. On this blog, I will try to show modern fiddling music while also fitting this video’s vintage aesthetic. Hopefully, as I post more and more videos, we can also see how the music genre will evolve. This is certainly the best video to begin with!