Bridget's Biography
Photo: Janet Meridith
It is common to find Bridget just about anywhere for she spends most of her time on the move. After graduating from the University of Colorado at Denver in 2005 she feels most at home on the road. Although she resides in Boulder with her lovely mom and dearest fan, Peggy, the life of a traveling musician suits her best. Within the last year her closest friends and favorite musicians have formed a band known as Itz Evolving and Elephant Revival Concept. Although Bridget is a multi-instrumentalist, her passion lies in the fiddle and her songwriting, which she expresses freely in this group; all five members are also songwriters. At this time, the majority of their gigs are in the Colorado area, however these gypsy souls are ready, willing and stoked to tour.
Bridget’s enthusiasm and passion for music has led her to many wonderful places and connected her to truly incredible people. Some of her favorite places that she has recently visited are: Europe, the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, Austin TX, Burlington VT, and Scotland where she will be visiting again this summer to teach at a small fiddle camp in the Hebrides Islands. She holds the presence of an accomplished musician with polite confidence and humble observation; this demeanor has led her to opportunities to play with some amazing and famous groups/musicians. Some of those include Michael Franti & Spearhead, George Clinton & P-Funk, The Mutaytor, Tim O’Brien, Vince Herman & Great American Taxi, members of Yonder Mountain String Band, Queen City Jazz Band, Honky Tonk Homeslice, Hot Buttered Rum, Polytoxic, Outformation, Randy Crouch, The Wayward Sons, Oakhurst, Piers Faccinni, Hazel Miller, Rebecca Folsom and many more. She is well known in the Colorado music scene especially on the grassroots level. She is a natural born net worker, always meeting people and connecting things for the love of the music and the scene that makes it possible to share.
Bridget is a Colorado native, born and raised in Denver and Boulder. She began playing fiddle at age 9 inspired by her mentor Chris Daring. It was with Chris and her family that Bridget first began traveling and competing in fiddling contests. These healthy competitions set the groundwork for Bridget's fiddle style by encouraging her to be technically proficient as well as soulful and unique. Bridget continues to attend these contests in states including but not limited to, Texas, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, and California.
Her education began at the Denver Waldorf School, a private school that nurtured creativity and individuality. After a bouncy four years of high school, she settled in Denver to attend college at the University of Colorado at Denver. She graduated in December 2005 with a Bachelors Degree in Music emphasizing Music Business. Her college years were fruitfully filled with learning and exploration. It was at UCD that she learned the tools of Music Theory, Music Promotion, Recording Arts, Band Leading, Jazz Improvisation, and other areas of study that aided in her intelligence and versatility.
Teaching is one of Bridget's favorite ways to experience music. She believes 'returning the favor' is key in the enjoyment of musical expression. She has started many young fiddlers and introduced them to the possibilities they can create with an instrument. Her teaching skills are being sought out more all the time. In the summer of 2006 and 2007 she has been a guest tutor at Taransay Fiddle Camp of Scotland; a beautifully intimate camp held on the remote island of Taransay. She hopes to do more tutoring at camps as she grows into her expertise.
Bridget has many other notable musical accomplishments. She was the Colorado State Fiddle Champion in 1995 and 2000; and in 2003 and 2005 she was named the Wet Mountain Western Days Champion. She also ranked in the top twenty in both the National Old-time Fiddler Contest, and the Texas State Fiddle Championships. She has been awarded multiple scholarships by the Denver Jazz Foundation including the Ron Cope Band Leader Scholarship. She has traveled and played all over Colorado and the United States. Her International travels have included a college trip to perform for nearly four hundred people at the Moscow Conservatory in Russia, as well as a month long tour of Europe with a Denver Bluegrass band called Oakhurst (www.porchmusic.com).
Her work with bands is extensive. First, she started a Western Swing band with some of her childhood friends. Soon after she was invited to play in a Classic Rock group, The Jim Edfors Trio where she filled in for the lead guitar solos for songs like “All Along the Watchtower” and “Moondance”. She went on to play Folk Rock with Gann Mathews (a Denver Songwriter) and Bluegrass with the Lazy String Gang. In 2003 and 2004 she received the Denver Jazz Foundation bandleader scholarship to lead the Claim Jumpers, the Dixieland Jazz ensemble at the University of Colorado at Denver. The group enjoyed playing together so much that they agreed to play gigs outside of college under the name Trip Dixie. Some of the members of Trip Dixie started smaller groups with Bridget, including the Trad Jazz All Stars who play Gypsy swing, and Songs From a Rocking Chair who play a variety of folk, old-time and original music. Honeysuckle Rose is a group Bridget started with Bonnie Paine, a vocalist and washboard player from Tahlequah Oklahoma. Bridget and Bonnie’s personalities, styles, and voices complimented each other beautifully and the group had a truly unique sound that blended swing, original and roots music. This group has now evolved into their current group Itz Evolving and Elephant Revival Concept. Bridget often travels to Tahlequah to play with Bonnie and her sister’s in their band called My Tea Kind. Once, while in Oklahoma Bridget was introduced to Kirk Rundstrom, a well-known songwriter whose energy and enthusiasm has inspired millions. Post graduation in December 2005 she toured with the group Grain and Demise led by Rundstrom. Shortly after the first leg of the tour he was diagnosed with cancer; he passed in February 2007. May his body rest in peace and his spirit continue to inspire—for it is potent and infectious! All of this experience in bands has lended itself nicely to her current project, for which she feels the most passionate about so far. Itz Evolving/Elephant Revival Concept is a lovely union of beings, where Bridget feels truly comfortable expressing the art within her through both her fiddle and her songwriting.
With a bright future ahead of her, Bridget plans to continue her enthusiasm by always doing what she loves—Making Music.