The Blue Café series of free performances in Camden Opera House’s intimate third-floor listening room presents Hildaland on Wednesday, March 4th at 7:30pm. A contemporary collage of Scottish and American traditional music, this transatlantic folk duo features virtuosic fiddle & mandolin. 

Scottish fiddler Louise Bichan and American mandolinist Ethan Setiawan present a collaboration and meeting of their musical worlds in Hildaland.  Hildaland blends Scottish and American traditional music, treating geographic borders as points of exploration rather than limitation. Fiddle player Louise Bichan of Orkney, Scotland, and mandolinist Ethan Setiawan of Goshen, Indiana, met at Berklee College of Music and have since forged a sound that moves from traditional Scottish roots through progressive bluegrass and jazz, inspired by place and journey. Both highly acclaimed musicians—Setiawan a National Mandolin Champion who has performed with artists such as Darrell Scott and Julian Lage, and Bichan an award-winning fiddler heard on the BBC and at major festivals—the pair bring contrasting but complementary musical voices to the project. After first collaborating in the band Corner House, they formed Hildaland to explore the expressive possibilities of a stripped-down duo format. Their debut album Sule Skerry features reimagined traditional tunes, original compositions, and select songs, while their EP Fiddle Tunes focuses on instrumental explorations of the global fiddle tradition. Based in New England but closely connected to the Glasgow music scene, Hildaland has developed a distinctive, innovative, and expressive voice that transcends both physical and musical boundaries.  

A path steeped in the fiddle traditions of their respective sides of the Atlantic, the journey taken wends through Scottish, old-time, and Swedish inspired music woven with contemporary compositions.

Seating is limited; doors at 29 Elm St. open at 7 p.m. Free admission, all welcome. Donations to the Community Arts Fund are encouraged and welcomed. FMI call: 207-236-3154