Bio Full Biography »

Bonnie Rideout grew up on a farm in Michigan, spent much of her childhood on Cliff Island, Casco Bay, ME, and studied classical violin at the University of Michigan. Her fiddling, however, reflects the musical traditions of her ancestral home of Scotland. The recipient of Instrumentalist of the Year and Record of the Year WAMA (Washington Area Music Association) awards in 2000, Rideout is a three-time winner of the United States National Scottish fiddle championship and the only American to be invited to demonstrate 18th century and Highland fiddle styles at the Edinburgh International Festival. The Washington Post praised Rideout for her "soulful, elegant, and virtuosic fiddle playing," while Rock'n Reel took a similar view, writing that Rideout's "playing is examplary throughout, with exhilaration and desolate beauty in equal measure." Rideout inherited her love of music from her mother, who played piano, and her father, who played ocarina. While searching for Christmas presents in h...