A Prairie Home Companion: October 25, 3003

Special Guests
Saturday, October 25, 2003

Väsen is a group of some of Sweden's best musicians who have, between them, been featured with dozens of Swedish and international groups, ranging from nyckelharpa orchestras and Swedish traditional bands to the Kronos Quartet and the chart-topping folk-rock band Nordman. Väsen's music is a uniquely beautiful combination of the traditional sounds of the viola and nyckelharpa (a keyed fiddle unique to Sweden), and the more modern sounds of an alternatively tuned 12-string guitar and percussion ensemble. Combining jazz, classical, dance, and folk elements, Väsen manages at once to be delicate and intensely energetic. They have produced many albums together; their most recent offering is “Trio” which was released earlier this year on NorthSide.

Violinist and vocalist Andrea Zonn was raised in a musical family. Her father was a professor of music theory and composition; her mother, an oboist and pianist. Zonn took up the violin, and began fiddling at age ten when she outgrew her classical training. She arrived in Nashville at age 16 and soon found work as a studio musician. In 1990, she joined Vince Gill's band with whom she continues to perform to this day. Zonn has also collaborated with Lyle Lovett, Alison Krauss, and Trisha Yearwood. Zonn made her solo debut in May 2003 with the album Love Goes On (Compass).

Stuart Duncan, who grew up as a fiddle and mandolin prodigy in southern CA, emerged as a powerful presence on the bluegrass music scene when he moved to Nashville in the 1980s. He is a founding member of the prestigious Nashville Bluegrass Band, with whom he still performs, and was a prominently featured artist on the Down From The Mountain tour in 2002. Stuart is a two-time Grammy award winner who has been voted Fiddle Player of the Year many times by his peers in the International Bluegrass Music Association. One of Nashville’s most sought-after musicians, Duncan has been featured with artists as diverse as Bela Fleck, Dolly Parton, Sting and the Dixie Chicks. His solo album “Stuart Duncan” was released on Rounder Records.