Hailing from Maine, Julia Plumb (fiddle, viola, foot percussion) and Baron Collins-Hill (mandolin, tenorguitar) play  tunes from New England, Quebec, Appalachia, Scandinavia, and the British Isles. They play with a tight, close sound, staying true to the tunes and bolstering them with driving dance rhythms and sweet harmonies. Julia and Baron are thoughtful teachers and experienced players, performing for dances, concerts, weddings, and other events. As the duo Velocipede, the synergy of Julia and Baron’s playing is manifest. Whether delivering a ripping set of reels for a contra dance, teaching crooked tunes from their journeys to Quebec at a workshop, or harmonizing with an achingly beautiful march in concert, Velocipede is sure to catch listeners’ ears and set toes tapping.

After years of enjoying each other’s playing, Julia Plumb and Baron Collins-Hill formed Velocipede in 2011.

Having traveled the British Isles, France, Eastern Canada, and Appalachia learning and teaching traditional tunes and dances, Julia brings to the duo a wealth of knowledge of different traditional music styles as well as more than a decade of experience playing for contra dances in New England. Equally at home on the stage and on the dance floor, callers and dancers appreciate Julia’s strongly rhythmic playing and ability to select the best tunes to match a dance.

Baron grew up playing the mandolin in Maine and recently graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts with a degree in music performance and ethnomusicology. He is known for his rhythmic experimentation and unique harmonic sense on both the mandolin and the tenor guitar. Baron loves crooked tunes and major flat seven chords substituted for major four chords.