Carter Newell, fiddle
Maisie Newell, fiddle
Helen Newell, fiddle
Eric Dayan, guitar

Three generations of fiddlers means lots of fun! Carter Newell’s been fiddling for 50 years and farming oysters for almost as long.  He is a marine biology PHD, a shellfish and coastal ecosystems researcher, and co-owner of the Pemaquid Oyster Company. He’s played with the Old Gray Goose, the Oystermen, and the Maine Country Dance Orchestra for contra and barn dances, concerts and festivals. One of his favorite projects is the Newell Family band comprised of 3 generations of fiddlers, and he’s bringing them all to Fiddle Tunes.

Daughter Helen Newell graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2022, where she studied Violin Performance and American Roots. She is now living in Nashville, where she has an active performing life as a professional violinist, playing in orchestras, musicals, recording sessions, chamber groups, and folk bands. She currently teaches violin in-person in Nashville and online to students of all ages. Her teaching philosophy is to make playing the violin enjoyable and effortless, reduce tension, and explore styles that make you love music even

And daughter Maisie Newell and Eric Dayan and their four kids play fiddles too. Maisie grew up at the contradances in Maine. After studying classical violin performance at Hayes Conservatory in Boone she hit the road with her fiddle traveling the country and world with several groups (including a circus traveling by bicycle) and spent time in rural areas of the Balkans and Eastern Europe learning tunes by ear from celebrated traditional musicians. Maisie and Eric met at a fiddler’s convention and made a family in Maine. Their kids are amazing fiddlers ranging from age 4 to 15. Steeped in Down East, New England Contradance, Irish, Scottish and Quebecois music they have grown up at dances, jams, and gatherings where music is the center of the fun. Maisie, Eric and the kids have a band called the Twitchell Hill Fiddleheads that plays all over the state for contradances, shows and festivals. Maisie has a 22 acre organic wild blueberry farm which becomes a full time job for the whole family mid-summer.  Eric studied jazz guitar in college and has played in numerous bands including with the Zydeco icon Roy Carrier. He now teaches high school physics and music as well as running his arborist business. When Maisie and Eric and the kids show up, it’s a party!