fiddlerokennedy - Sap Line

With their sound firmly rooted in the music of New England & Maritime Canada, Scotland, Ireland, and Appalachia, Sap Line blends these connected traditions to explore a rich palette of harmonic possibilities. They bring an astonishing number of instruments to the stage, adding a fresh and youthful flavor to their arrangements of energetic jigs and reels, lyrical 3-part harmony singing, and foot-stomping Old Time favorites. Together, Sap Line taps into the legacy of musicians who have mentored and inspired them, sharing the joy of traditional music in dynamic, high-spirited performances.

July 2025

As Vermont Folklife's Sugar in the Pan band, along with Eli Glasser and Henry Kervick, we will be playing the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, July 2-7!

August 2025

8/10: Searsport Concert Series in Searsport, ME

8/13: The Hill Arts in Portland, ME

8/14: Old South Church Concert in Farmington, ME

8/19: Cabot Arts Music on the Common in Cabot, VT

Listen on YouTube or find out about upcoming events at @saplineband on Facebook and Instagram.

To contact Sap Line, please send an email to saplineband@gmail.com.

Sap Line kicked off 2025 playing four standing-room-only shows in Vermont over winter break, at Catamount Arts' First Night and Cabot Arts' Twelfth Night celebrations as well as at the Adamant Community Club and the Middlebury Community Music Center. Past performances include the 2024 Sutton Traditional Fiddle Festival and Fête de Mai 2023 in Québec and the 2023 Campfire Festival at Club Passim in Massachusetts. The band has also played at the Brownington Ceilidh Club, for Burlington City Arts, and as part of the Feast & Field Concert Series.

Sap Line is Old Time fiddler Fiona Stowell, New England piano and clawhammer banjo player Emmett Stowell, Maine Maritime/Scottish fiddler and tenor banjo player Owen Kennedy, and singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Grace Martin. The band name, Sap Line, comes from the Vermont (and Maine!) tradition of tapping trees to make maple syrup.

Fiona Stowell is an 18 year old fiddler living in Montpelier, Vermont. She has played music since the ripe old age of four, and has been performing ever since. She is particularly passionate about Old Time, Cape Breton, and Quebecois fiddle styles, but loves playing a little bit of everything. Fiona is also a singer and Celtic dancer. She has sung all over New England with Village Harmony and Northern Harmony, and has performed from New York City to Cape Breton with Young Tradition Vermont programs. Currently, she is a Youth Artist Leader for the Young Tradition Vermont Touring Group. Last year, Fiona was the YTV Youth Commission Leader. That group learned from master artists and performed the new material on a tour in Vermont and Quebec, culminating at Club Passim in Cambridge, MA. Fiona is thrilled to be embarking on a new musical journey with those same friends, now as Sap Line. Find Fiona on social media at @fiona_and_emmett.

Grace Martin Grace Martin is an 18 year old singer-songwriter attending Bates College in Maine. Her love for traditional music came from playing Irish tunes with her dad in the kitchen as a small child. Now, Grace plays a wide variety of music and instruments, including mandolin, guitar, piano, and electric bass and sings with the Bates College a capella group “The Crosstones”. Grace has performed up and down the East Coast and into the Caribbean, at open mics, cafes, festivals, and contradances. She is an alumni of Cordova Bluegrass Camp in Cordova, Alaska, and is now on staff as an instructor teaching singing, mandolin, and guitar. Grace is also a regular artist at Salmon Jam Music Festival every summer and was a member of the Young Tradition Vermont’s Touring Group and Youth Commission. She is so excited to play with Sap Line! Grace can be found on social media platforms at @gracemartinmusic.

Emmett Stowell is a 15 year old musician from Montpelier, Vermont. Emmett has been playing music since he was five years old when he told his mom he wanted to play the “rockstar banjo” and has added piano, guitar, and singing since then. He loves all types of traditional music, but his heart will always be with New England and Appalachian Old Time music as taught to him by his mentor Pete Sutherland. Emmett was lucky enough to spend ten years learning banjo from Pete and four years participating in the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program studying New England Contradance Piano with him, too. Emmett can be found performing in a duo with his sister Fiona, as well as with the Young Tradition Vermont Touring Group at Vermont Folklife. Emmett is super excited to be reunited with his friends and bandmates in Sap Line. Find Emmett on social media at @fiona_and_emmett.

Maine musician Owen Kennedy is an award-winning fiddler rooted in the Maine Maritime musical tradition and immersed in his growing passion for Scottish music, splitting time between Maine and Cape Breton. Owen began playing the violin at four years old, taking lessons first with Ellen Gawler and later with Seán Heely. He is the 2022 New England Regional Open Scottish Fiddle Champion, the 2021 Junior US National Scottish Fiddle Champion, and won the 2021 Young Stars of Maine "Glenn Jenks Future in Music" prize. Owen’s debut album "Oh When: Now" was recorded with Owen Marshall and released in 2023. Available on Bandcamp, “Oh When: Now” features tunes from Maine and Maritime Canada all the way to Scotland and the Shetland Islands. Now spending part of each year in Cape Breton, Owen is studying Gaelic language and culture at Beinn Mhàbu, joining in jam sessions, attending square dances, and performing at local events. Owen is super stoked to be part of Sap Line, playing tunes, singing songs, and having a blast with his friends! To keep in touch with Owen, visit www.fiddlerokennedy.com or find him on social media @fiddlerokennedy.

Sap Line began life in 2022 as a project headed by Fiona Stowell and commissioned by Young Tradition Vermont at Vermont Folklife. It started with a series of workshops with Dirk Powell, Sarah and Sean Watkins, Cornerhouse, and our very own Pete Sutherland, alongside rehearsals and performances through the winter of 2022-2023. The project ended with a capstone tour in May 2023, traveling through Vermont and Quebec, with a final show at Club Passim’s Campfire Festival in Cambridge, MA. Along the way, Sap Line's members forged a strong bond, built on a mutual love of traditional music and song performance and the enjoyment of making music together.

2023 Feast & Field Concert in Barnard, VT

2023 Campfire Festival at Club Passim in Cambridge, MA

See more videos on Sap Line's YouTube channel!

To contact us, send an email to saplineband@gmail.com.

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