Sara and James Nelson are siblings from Lower Coverdale NB that are bringing the traditional toe tapping Maritime Fiddle music to audiences around the Maritimes, and beyond. Finding a love for fiddle music early on, these first generation musical siblings have been finding people to entertain for as long as they can remember. Starting out at church functions, local jam nights, or wandering from room to room at the hospital and nursing homes, these two have always enjoyed playing a tune for someone.
As a duo, they got their start as the musicians for the Molly Kool Kitchen Party, a weekly summer show at Fundy National Park which they performed at for 6 summers starting when they were 6 & 8 years old. They have competed and won fiddle contests in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Ontario and in 2024, they were invited to compete as part of the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Contest in Whitehorse.
They are a part of the Sussex Avenue Fiddlers under the direction of Ivan and Vivian Hicks who perform at fundraisers and community events around the Maritimes. In 2021, they both joined the cast of the Lumber Jills, and have performed at festivals in PEI and NB, including the PEI Festival of Small Halls, Cavendish Beach Music Festival and Levee on the Lake. In the fall of 2023 & 2024 they were invited to perform for a week at Dollywood in Tennessee and in the summer of 2024 they travelled to Scotland to play the HebCelt Festival.
Recently the pair have returned to performing primarily as a duo and have started working on their first album which they plan to release later this year. Sara is finishing her first year at Holland College where she is studying music performance, and James is in grade 11 at Riverview High.