Rachel Baiman

Rachel Baiman is an American fiddle and banjo player, singer, and songwriter from Chicago, and is based in Nashville. Her work draws on old-time, bluegrass, Scottish, and folk music, and spans both traditional repertoire and original material. She is also part of the duo 10 String Symphony with Christian Sedelmyer, and has been a member of Oh My Darling. The verified membership list also includes Kryptonite Puss.

Recording and collaborations

Baiman’s debut album, Speakeasy Man, combines Scottish and American folk and fiddle music. It is recorded partly in Dunkeld, Scotland, with production by Matheu Watson, and partly in Nashville with engineer Erick Jaskowiak. The album is nominated for Independent Music Awards Album of the Year in the Americana category.

Alongside her solo work, she tours widely with 10 String Symphony and performs at festivals including ROMP in Owensboro, the Strawberry Music Festival in Yosemite, and the Auckland Folk Festival. She also appears with other acts in live settings, including performances on the Grand Ole Opry with Mike Snyder and at the Ryman Auditorium playing strings for Kacey Musgraves.

Background and training

Baiman grows up in the Chicago area and builds a reputation in regional fiddle contests, including winning the Illinois State Fiddle Championship at 17. She also wins the Old Town School of Folk Music’s Midwestern Fiddle Championships and places second in the Grand Master Fiddle Championship Traditional Styles category in 2012 and 2014.

She graduates from Vanderbilt University magna cum laude with degrees in Anthropology and Music, studies with Matt Combs, and focuses on southern old-time fiddle traditions. She also spends a semester at the University of Edinburgh, studying Anthropology and Scottish music traditions. In 2011, she receives an undergraduate research grant to transcribe recordings by The Skillet Lickers, with the transcriptions later becoming part of MTSU’s Library of Popular Music.

Teaching and other activity

Baiman runs a week-long fiddle camp in Oak Park, Illinois, for children aged 7 to 14, with scholarships and a school outreach programme aimed at widening access. She also teaches private lessons in Nashville and has taught at Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp in Winter Park, Colorado, and the Alaska City Folk Arts Camp in Anchorage, Alaska.

Touring

As a member of Oh My Darling, she tours Germany, Belgium, Austria, France, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand in 2012 and 2013, and plays festivals including JamGrass in Melbourne, Dorrigo Bluegrass Festival, La Roche Bluegrass Festival in France, and the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh.