Short Round String Band
Short Round Stringband
Long-time friends and musical collaborators, The Aching Hearts (Kelly Wells and Ryan Spearman) and Betse & Clarke (Betse Ellis and Clarke Wyatt) come together as the Short Round Stringband. With deep connections to old-time, country and Ozark tunes and songs, Short Round Stringband takes you on a moving journey through the sounds and stories of the American experience. Their hard driving fiddle tunes will get you out of your seat. Their vocal duets will bring a tear to your eye, and their original songs and inventive new compositions showcase a passion for the depth of tradition and a look to new creative paths. Your ears are in good hands with these artists. Both duets that make up this foursome have appeared numerous times at previous JHMFs.
Members of the Short Round Stringband have collectively honed their craft and engage in multiple aspects of the folk music community. These four talented folks boast an electro-acoustic jazz composer trained in Paris, an executive director of a community radio station, 2 podcast producers, 2 radio DJs, 2 engineer/producers, 2 published ensemble composers, an online banjo lesson website, a multiple fiddle contest winner, 2 classically-trained instrumentalists, 4 folk music educators, 2 fiddlers, 2 banjo players, 3 mandolin players, 3 guitar players (and one tenor guitar player), 2 cellists, a violist, a harpist, and 4 inventive cooks, and they're plain down-home good folks!