Eileen Ivers and Universal Roots (Plymouth)

Eileen Ivers will change the way you think of the violin. Grammy-winning and Emmy-nominated, Eileen Ivers continues to push traditional fiddling boundaries from a folk music staple to an intensely driving, powerfully beautiful world stage experience. In a career that has spanned more than 40 years, Ivers has performed and/or toured with such diverse artists as Sting, Patti Smith, Al Di Meola, Hall and Oates and The Chieftains. She has guest starred with the London Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, over 60 symphony orchestras to date, and was the groundbreaking musical star of Riverdance, a featured instrumentalist on Back to Titanic and film soundtracks including Gangs of New York. She’s been called a “sensation” by Billboard magazine, “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin,” by The New York Times and “a virtuoso” by The Irish Times. The daughter of Irish immigrants, Eileen was born and raised in the culturally diverse neighborhood of The Bronx, NYC. She is a 9-time All-Ireland fiddle champion, and one of the most awarded All-Ireland Fiddle and Banjo champions ever. Proclaimed “a national treasure” by the NCTA chair, she celebrates her renowned career as a performer, composer, producer, songwriter, band leader, educator, multi-instrumentalist and revered pioneer in connecting her American, Irish traditional, jazz, blues, and world roots.