FYC: The story behind The Fiddle Funnel Sessions (Page a work in progress)

For Your Grammy® Consideration in Trad Folk. The Fiddle Funnel Sessions began in December 2025 with a simple goal: to create an instrumental album that honors the living fiddle traditions of New England while celebrating the musical paths that shaped them.

For more than five decades I have performed, studied, taught, produced, and documented the music of New England, Acadia, Scotland, Ireland, Quebec, and Cape Breton among other styles. Throughout that journey I became increasingly convinced that the Northeast deserves greater recognition as one of North America's great crossroads of fiddle music.

I often describe this musical crossroads as The Fiddle Funnel—the place where Celtic, Acadian, French-Canadian, Scottish, Irish, and early American traditions flowed together through immigration, mill towns, fishing communities, dance halls, grange halls, kitchens, churches, and front porches. These traditions did not remain frozen in time. They evolved into a distinctive regional voice that continues to inspire musicians today. New England Fiddle migrated south down the Appalachian Trail out to the west hence The Fiddle Funnel.

This album is my contribution to that continuing story.

Listen on Streaming Sites Here or listen below

The Fiddle Funnel Sessions brought together an extraordinary group of collaborators whose artistry helped shape every recording. Each musician brought decades of experience and a unique musical voice while serving the melodies rather than overshadowing them. Their contributions transformed these compositions into living conversations rooted in tradition and inspired by friendship.

#1: “Maggy in Majorca”, a composition by E J Ouellette on fiddle, Celt 4 string banjo, acoustic & bass guitar. This track features Maestro & famed UK drummer Dave Mattacks. Maestri Deborah Offenhauser plays her incredible piano chops, Saxophonist Steve Baker offers his Celt sax chops & Bob Cannon on flamenco acoustic guitar.

#2: “Elegant Sunrise” A composition by E J Ouellette on fiddles, mandolin, acoustic & bass guitar & drums. Featured Artist is Lisa O’Donnell on piano.

#3: , “Celt Acadian Rhapsody”, a composition by E J Ouellette on fiddles, Celt 4 string banjo, acoustic, electric & bass guitars. Featuring Deborah Offenhauser on piano, Geoff Wadsworth on Celt flute and whistle, Steve Baker on Celt saxophone.

#4: “Strathspey Delnabo” a reimagined trad ition Scottish Strathspay with E J Ouellette on fiddle, mandolin, Celt 4 string banjo, acoustic, electric & bass guitars. Featuring Don Gaudreau on piano New England style fiddle accompanying piano & Steve Baker on Celt Saxophone.

#5: “Mando Jam” a set of New England Celt/Acadian tunes with E J Ouellette on mandolin, fiddles & organ. Featuring Lisa O’Donnell on piano and Steve Baker on Celt Saxophone.

#6: “Millers’ Waltz” a composition by E J Ouellette. E J appears on fiddles, viola & acoustic & bass guitars. Featuring Lisa O’Donnell on New England style piano accompaniment.

#7: “ The Boston Jig” is a set of tunes in the Boston driving tradition “Get out of my way, I play it my way”. E J Ouellette on fiddles, acoustic, electric and bass guitars. Featuring Geoff Wadsworth on Celt flutes & whistles and Maestro Dave Mattacks on da drums.

#8: “In the High Land” a composition by E J Ouellette & Dave Mattacks. E J appears on fiddle, Celt banjo, acoustic & bass guitars. Featiuring Dave Mattacks on drums & Don Gaudreau on New England Celt piano accompaniment.

#9: “In the Green Room” The song (comosed by E J Ouellette) settles into a laid-back folk-reggae groove, with my Irish roots never far away. I’m a Sullivan on me mom’s side. Halfway through, the traditional Irish tune “The Musical Priest” starts weaving its way into the music. Then we blast off. Put your dancin' shoes on!

E J Ouellette on vocals, fiddle, viola, Celt banjo, acoustic, electric and bass guitars. Featuring the amazing Deborah Offenhouser Celt driven piano, Steve Baker on Celt Saxophone. Yes there is such a thing. Carol Coronis on Celt cittern. Deborah is also co-producer on this cut.

Dave Mattacks has recorded and played with UK’s Fairport Convention, Feast of Fiddles, Richard Thompson, Paul McCartney, Roseann Cash and many, many more artists.

Deborah Offenhauser hails from Phoenix AZ and nails these fiddle tunes with mastery!

Steve Baker is a member of the RadTrad outfit E J Ouellette & Crazy Maggy.

Geoff Wadsworth is a member of the popular New England Cajun Zydecco band The Squeezebox Stompers".

Carol Coronis the voice of Ceili Radio at WUNH appears on Cittern on “In the Green Room”

My old school mate and Crazy Maggy pianist Donnie Gaudreau performs remarkable keys on “Strathspey Delnabo” and “In the Highland”

All though the music is deeply connected to history, this is not a museum project. These performances are interpretations that respect traditional forms while embracing modern arrangements, recording techniques, and production. My hope was to create recordings that honor where this music came from while inviting new listeners into its future.

Recorded, engineered, mixed, and produced at Whole Music Studios, The Fiddle Funnel Sessions represents nearly six months of focused work beginning in December 2025. Every tune was carefully crafted to preserve the expressive qualities of New England Celt/Acadian fiddle while allowing each supporting instrument to contribute its own voice to the musical conversation.

My hope is that listeners hear not only the melodies, but also the generations of musicians who carried this music across oceans, through communities, onto dance floors, and into the present day.This album is dedicated to those traditions—and to everyone who continues to keep them alive.

The Fiddle Funnel Sessions by E J Ouellette

Massachusetts, New England, USA

Main genre: Trad Folk (Instrumental Folk / American Noreast Celtic/Acadian/New England Regional Roots)

Released July 2026 by Whole Music Records™ Produced by E J Ouellette. Co-produced by Lisa O'Donnell.

E J Ouellette: CEO Whole Music Records Studios/Whole Music Records™, Newbury, Massachusetts, USA.

Here’s what the reviewers are saying about this album":

UK:"Since most of the album is instrumental the melodies do the storytelling." https://www.lostinthemanor.co.uk/blog/litm-singer-songwriter-picks-featuring-elephant-run-river-holland-podge-lane-and-more

Poland: The Musical Road: "...a compelling showcase of an artist whose career has been built around the fiddle storytellingand an unmistakable connection to the musical traditions of northern America." https://www.themusicalroad.net/blog/august2026/e-j-ouellette

Thrive Magazine: "...an energetic salute to fiddle music, blending the rich traditions of New England, Celtic,Acadian, Scottish, Irish, and French-Canadian music into one delightful instrumental package...vivid musical crossroads where history, exploration, and creative innovation converge." https://www.thestrivemagazine.com/2026/08/ej-ouellettes-fiddle-funnel-sessions.html

Chile: "...a display of absolute mastery..." https://www.carouselrevista.com/descubre-m%C3%9Asica/e-j-ouellette-talento-y-pasi%C3%93n-que-no-se-agotan

Iceland an Inetrview: "...Ouellette plays with the authority of a seasoned bandleader and the instinct of a storyteller, letting melody carry the weight where lyrics usually would." https://www.theinterviewist.com/2026/08/26/e-j-ouellette/

Argentina: "The American artist offers a work deeply rooted in the folk traditions of the northern United States, while bringing a personal and contemporary approach to the genre." https://www.revistasoundloop.com/2026/08/e-j-ouellette-the-fiddle-funnel-sessions.html

France: "...a career deeply rooted in the fiddle and in Celtic, Acadian, Scottish, Irish, and French-Canadian musical traditions. His aim is not to replicate these traditions as museum pieces, but to keep them evolving by incorporating new arrangements and performance styles." https://infomusicmag.com/ej-ouellette-celebre-le-fiddle-et-la-tradition-folk-avec-the-fiddle-funnel-sessions/

Brazil: "The project is the result of decades of Ouellette’s dedication to traditional fiddle music it successfully preserves the spontaneity of live fiddle performances while allowing musicians to interact improvisationally free from excessive editing." https://www.osgarotosdeliverpool.com.br/2026/09/e-j-ouellette-celebra-as-raizes-da.html

USA: "...a nostalgic journey." https://cheerstothevikings.com/2026/08/28/ej-ouellette-the-fiddle-funnel-sessions/

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