New album release August 2026!
Dancing Fiddler
As a buck dancer, I'm a musician and my feet are my instrument.
THE STORY BEHIND DANCING FIDDLER
When I recorded my first albums, I didn't think of my dancing as an essential part of the music. I had come from a clogging background, where I understood dance primarily as visual entertainment. I loved dancing with my fiddle, but when it came time to make an audio recording, I didn't believe the footwork necessarily needed to be there.
My understanding of dance has changed tremendously since then.
As I've grown deeper into the buck dance tradition, I've come to understand the dancer as a musician. The best buck dancers don't simply dance to a tune—they play the tune with their feet. They listen to the melody, find rhythms within it, respond to the musicians, and contribute another rhythmic voice to the music.
I've spent years talking about that idea, teaching it, and trying to live up to it in my own dancing. Dancing Fiddler gave me the chance to put it to the test.
Could I make a record where the dancing wasn't there simply because people expect to hear the “Dancing Fiddler”? Could the feet actually make the music better?
That became the challenge behind this album.
I experimented with different shoes, dance surfaces, microphones, rhythms, and steps. Sometimes something that worked beautifully onstage didn't work in the studio. I had to stop thinking about which steps looked the most impressive and listen instead: What does this tune need? What can my feet add?
The process pushed me to grow as both a musician and a dancer. I learned that the goal wasn't perfect dancing—it was meaningful music. Sometimes the takes with the most character weren't the most technically perfect. They had life. They had rhythm. They felt good.
Since making my first recordings, I've also become known around the world as the Dancing Fiddler. People don't just come to hear me fiddle or watch me dance; they recognize the combination as part of my musical voice. It finally felt incomplete to make an album without capturing that part of who I am.
Dancing Fiddler is the result: a record where my feet aren't just something you would have seen if you'd been in the room.
They're part of what you hear.
This project was made possible by 388 people who supported my Kickstarter campaign in 2024. I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who believed in this idea before I knew exactly where it would lead. You gave me the opportunity to experiment, take chances, and make the record I had grown ready to make.
I dedicate Dancing Fiddler to my dance mentor, Thomas Maupin, who helped deepen my understanding of this tradition and what it means to make music with your feet. Thank you for sharing this tradition with me. Thank you for being my friend.
