Allison de Groot & Nic Gareiss
Featured as a duo on NPR’s “Best Roots Music of 2022," Allison de Groot and Nic Gareiss sound and move together, engaging tunes and gestures from Appalachia, Ireland, and beyond through banjo, voice, and percussive dance. Allison de Groot has performed at the Newport Folk Festival, Celtic Connections, Rockygrass, Hardly Strictly, Winnipeg Folk Festival, and Tønder Festival. Shaped by the music scene in her hometown of Winnipeg, Canada, Allison also holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance from Berklee College of Music in Boston and has been awarded both the Joseph S. Stauffer Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Eisenson Family Prize for Excellence in American Roots Music. Her album with Tatiana Hargreaves won Best Bluegrass Album from the Independent Music Awards and was nominated for Liner Notes of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association. Nic Gareiss has been hailed by the New York Times for his “dexterous melding of Irish and Appalachian dance” and called “the most inventive and expressive step dancer on the scene” by the Boston Herald. Holding a MA in Ethnochoreology from the University of Limerick, Nic received the 2021 Michigan Heritage Award, the region’s highest honor bestowed on traditional artists and was named “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine. Through their collaboration, the duo of Allison de Groot & Nic Gareiss expands the conceptions and conventions of both banjo and percussive dance.
After their first decade of performance collaborations, Nic Gareiss and Allison de Groot released The Thrill, a visual album inspired by the music of Appalachian musician Hobart Smith. The duo spent concentrated time immersing themselves in archival recordings of Smith (1897-1965) to create The Thrill. “We listened in hopes of having a conversation with his music,” Gareiss says, “not attempting to replicate – which would be impossible! – but hoping for a discourse, a tiff, a dialogue with his music.” The title itself comes from a quote from Hobart: “music fills you with a thrill you just can’t express.” Fifty percent of the proceeds of the album benefit Lonesome Pine Mutual Aid, an Appalachian organization which distributes flood relief including food, drinking water, and other community care across southwest Virginia where Hobart Smith lived and learned his music. The Thrill was named “Best Roots Music of 2022” by NPR and can be experienced exclusively on Bandcamp here: www.nicandallison.bandcamp.com
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“A virtuoso step dancer in Irish and Appalachian traditions...an undersung treasure.”
— Brian Seibert, The New York Times
“Allison’s banjo playing is characterized by the ability to seamlessly navigate between delicate melodic lines and powerful driving rhythm all with an emotional depth.”
— Alison Brown, Grammy-winning banjoist,
“The most inventive and expressive step dancer on the scene.”
— Daniel Gewertz, The Boston Herald.
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