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Saline District Library celebrated Pi Day with a family concert featuring the local trio Fiddle Pie on Saturday, March 14. The trio, which includes two fiddlers and a guitarist, played traditional Celtic music. Children danced to the jigs and reels, and sang along with several tunes.
“We were trying to find something because it is Pi Day today, and somebody thought of Fiddle Pie,” said Evie Moorer, Youth Assistant at the Saline District Library. “It’s the first time they’ve come to the Saline Library, which is kind of amazing because they live locally here in Saline. A lot of kids seemed to enjoy the music, and so did the adults.”
“We’re here in Saline, and we play around town a lot. We’ve been playing for a long time, since 2003,” said fiddler Claire Barnich. “I did the fiddle group in high school, and then directed for a little while for that group. We decided that we wanted to keep playing.”
“I was the rhythm base coach in the group,” said guitarist Bill Belote. “We started putting little tunes together on the side.”
“We put together some smaller groups, and it whittled its way down to us,” Barnich said.
With the addition of fiddler Rebecca Kaltz from Chelsea, the trio developed their set list while still opening their sessions to other players.
“We never knew how many fiddles would be in the group at the gig, there were always a bunch of kids that wanted to play. And we said, ‘Okay, just come on out.’ Sometimes it would be two, sometimes it would be four,” Belote said.
“It was a different flavor pie every time,” Barnich said.
“A pie with many pieces,” Belote added.
The trio played many traditional Celtic tunes like Buffalo Gals along with a few of their own twists like Ice Cream Before Breakfast. They encouraged the audience to participate, sing along, clap along and dance.
After the concert, the trio answered questions from the families and shared their instruments with curious children.
Fiddle Pie plays at many local events, and frequently makes stops at Linden Square and Brecon Village. They have been featured at Saline Dementia Friendly events, and have made appearances at many Saline-area businesses.
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