Agent: Chris Colbourn
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“Long Time to Be Gone,” [is] a disarming collection of traditional laments and exquisite banjo instrumentals which she recorded in the palatial St. Ann’s Church” – Jay Ruttenberg, The New Yorker
“Some of the most interesting and haunting traditional music we’ve heard… impossibly talented… One thing that I really loved about both your albums is that both your banjo technique and your vocals are amazing. You seem to be mining these old songs with emotions far beyond your years.” – Jason Verlinde, Fretboard Journal
“Sidetrack My Engine is both a reverent nod to deeply-rooted ole-time traditions, and an exhibit of sonic heirlooms carefully amended to meet a modern moment with vintage elegance.” – Madeline Crone, American Songwriter
Nora Brown was introduced to traditional music by chance as a six year old. What her parents assumed would be standard ukulele lessons were an inconspicuous window to the world of old-time music. From his tiny studio apartment in Brooklyn, the late Shlomo Pestcoe, a historian and old-time musician taught Nora old time tunes on the ukulele and through his continued instruction other traditional instruments– the fiddle, mandolin, guitar and banjo.
Nora now plays traditional Appalachian music with a focus on banjo playing from Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee. Along with mentors in the northeast like the late John Cohen she also has traveled and learned directly from master musicians including Alice Gerrard, George Gibson and the late Lee Sexton.
She toured across the US, Europe, and Japan, playing renowned festivals including the Newport Folk Festival, Roskilde Festival, and the Trans-Pecos Festival of Love in Marfa, Texas. She has performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk twice, TED Salon, WNYC’s Dolly Parton’s America and an official showcase at the 2022 Americana Fest in Nashville. Nora has been interviewed on NPR’s Weekend Edition, WBUR Here and Now and she’s been included on NPR’s All Songs Considered. Since 2019 she has released four albums on Brooklyn’s own Jalopy Records Label. All records have charted on the Billboard Bluegrass Charts during the first week of release. The New Yorker called her most recent solo record Long Time To Be Gone – “A disarming collection Fretboard Journal called her record Sidetrack My Engine – “Some of the most interesting and haunting traditional music we’ve heard… impossibly talented” She has won numerous banjo and folk song competitions at various fiddlers conventions including the Clifftop Appalachian String Band Music Festival and The Grayson County Old- time and Bluegrass Fiddlers Convention. Nora performs solo but also frequently as a duo with award winning fiddler Stephanie Coleman. Nora + Stephanie Coleman:
of traditional laments and exquisite banjo instrumentals”.
First brought together by Brooklyn’s tight-knit old-time music community in 2017, Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman share a rich musical partnership. Nora is a banjo player, and has released 3 albums on Brooklyn based Jalopy Records. She has performed across the US, Europe, and Japan including on NPR’s Tiny Desk and TED EDU. Stephanie is a master old-time fiddler, having recorded and toured internationally with celebrated artists such as trailblazing
all-women stringband Uncle Earl, Rhiannon Giddens, Watchhouse’s Andrew Marlin, and Aoife O’Donovan.
In July 2023, Nora and Stephanie released their debut EP Lady of the Lake on Jalopy Records. The release was followed by a duo performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. Folk Radio UK wrote that the EP “leaves you wanting more,” continuing, “There is a shrewd exuberance in the way Nora and Stephanie play together on this EP, taking turns to lead and leaving plenty of space for each other to shine. They play with consistent flair and an audible mastery of their
instruments.” Nora and Stephanie previously recorded together on Nora’s 2019 album Cinnamon Tree, and have performed at such renowned venues as The Kennedy Center, Roskilde Festival in Denmark, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival and the Cambridge Folk Festival in the UK.
