Gawler Family – Village Coffeehouse

Village Coffeehouse

First Congregational Church of New Gloucester, vestry

20 Gloucester Hill Road

April 6, 2024

7 pm

Tickets at the door: $10

Description

The Gawlers are a fun-loving, fiddling family band with shining smiles and joyful sounds. John and Ellen Gawler are master fiddle and banjo players and their three daughter, Molly, joins them for a unique Gawler trio sound. The band brings gorgeous music and high spirited sound of string instruments (fiddle, banjo, guitar) as well as harmony singing.

Gawler Family Band Bio

The Gawler Family brings you a delightful assortment of songs and tunes rooted in the traditional music of Maine and the Northeast. John and Ellen, together with their daughter Molly, join their intertwining family harmonies with fiddles, banjo, guitar, and sometimes a few jokes.

Inspired by years of playing for dances in the old Grange halls, the Gawlers may be best known for their rollicking renditions of dance tunes in ‘the Downeast style’ with its origins in the Scots-Irish and French Canadian traditions. Their repertoire also includes a wide variety of old and new sounds, with highly spirited delivery of selections that may include a gutsy shanty or worksong, a heart wrenching ballad, a poignant a cappella number featuring the sisters, or an amusing ode to everyday life. With a particular focus on sentiments that reflect life in rural Maine, their unique arrangements are especially engaging and often go along with anecdotes of historical or humorous content.

For many years, the Gawler Family have shared their music at countless festivals, farms, concerts and schools, joyfully enlivening a sense of grassroots connection and community.  With their sparkling musicianship and infectious spirit, the Gawlers have found a warm place in the hearts of audiences of all ages.