Bruce Stockwell has been playing bluegrass banjo since 1968 and teaching since the 70’s. By age 16 he had won banjo contests, recorded his first album, and opened for Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, John Hartford, and many others. In the late 70’s he worked with Phil Rosenthal and Mike Auldridge as Old Dog producing two albums on Flying Fish. Since the 1980’s, Bruce has performed with his two brothers (and now wife Kelly) in various acoustic/electric formats. In 2005 he won the Merlefest Banjo Contest, and in 2008 a NH Arts Grant led to the formation of Hot Mustard, a double-banjo bluegrass band.

Laura Orshaw, fiddler and vocalist, “has firmly established [herself] as a significant emerging artist in the arena of traditional American music,” according to Bluegrass Unlimited magazine. Laura learned to play and sing from grandmother and regional Old Time musician, Betty Orshaw. She has 10 years of experience performing, teaching private lessons, and conducting educational programs and workshops throughout the Northeast. Laura hosts teen ensembles, kids academies and bluegrass instruction for adults at bluegrass festivals, among them Joe Val, Jenny Brook, Pemi Valley, Podunk, and Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival. Laura works at Lesley University as the coordinator for their music and art therapy program.