Nic Gareiss, Lissa Schneckenburger, Cameron Garrett
Each season, Lansing resident and world-renowned dancer, Nic Gareiss asks two different, nationally-known musical friends to help create a unique program of music and dance for a 3-4 stop Michigan tour. For this Friday night Fiddle show, fiddler extraordinaire Lissa Schneckenburger and multi-instrumentalist Cameron Garrett will join Nic for an evening of delightful music and expressive dance. "A show stopper... the most inventive and expressive step dancer on the scene." - Daniel Gewertz, The Boston Herald
Vermont-based fiddler and composer Lissa Schneckenburger and multi-instrumentalist Garrett Cameron join Lansing’s resident percussive dancer Nic Gareiss, to create music that’s equal parts rooted tradition and fearless exploration.
Together, they craft concerts full of rhythm, melody, improvisation, and joyful spontaneity—music that feels grounded, adventurous, and always vital in the moment.
Fiddler, singer, and composer Lissa Schneckenburger is both a sweet-voiced singer who brings new life to old ballads and a skillful, dynamic fiddler who captures the driving rhythm and carefree joy of dance tunes old and new. Lissa’s recent burst of writing—born during the pandemic and captured on her 2023 album Falling Forward—highlights her signature blend of driving New England fiddle tunes and reflective, original compositions.
Cameron Garrett brings his love of pulse, smushed tonalities, and the intersection of Scottish/Cape Breton traditions with experimental minimalism and free improvisation, performing on mandolin, vibraphone, and whatever else the moment calls for.
One of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch,” Nic Gareiss (he/they) is widely-recognized for his singular step dance style. Informed by 30 years of ethnographic study and performance, Gareiss’ work draws from many percussive dance practices to weave together a technique facilitating his love of improvisation; clog, flatfoot, and step dance vocabulary; and musical collaboration. Gareiss received the 2020 Michigan Heritage Award, the highest state recognition bestowed on traditional artists.
When My Baby Cries (original song)
Huntsman’s Chorus (traditional fiddle tune)
“Schneckenburger’s playing is…quietly virtuosic…her voice is pure and clear, full of simple emotion.” – All Music Guide
“A virtuoso step dancer in Irish and Appalachian traditions…Gareiss is an undersung treasure.” – Brian Seibert, The New York Times
Vermont-based fiddler and composer Lissa Schneckenburger and multi-instrumentalist Garrett Cameron join Lansing’s resident percussive dancer Nic Gareiss, to create music that’s equal parts rooted tradition and fearless exploration.
Together, they craft concerts full of rhythm, melody, improvisation, and joyful spontaneity—music that feels grounded, adventurous, and always vital in the moment.
Fiddler, singer, and composer Lissa Schneckenburger is both a sweet-voiced singer who brings new life to old ballads and a skillful, dynamic fiddler who captures the driving rhythm and carefree joy of dance tunes old and new. Lissa’s recent burst of writing—born during the pandemic and captured on her 2023 album Falling Forward—highlights her signature blend of driving New England fiddle tunes and reflective, original compositions.
Cameron Garrett brings his love of pulse, smushed tonalities, and the intersection of Scottish/Cape Breton traditions with experimental minimalism and free improvisation, performing on mandolin, vibraphone, and whatever else the moment calls for.
One of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch,” Nic Gareiss (he/they) is widely-recognized for his singular step dance style. Informed by 30 years of ethnographic study and performance, Gareiss’ work draws from many percussive dance practices to weave together a technique facilitating his love of improvisation; clog, flatfoot, and step dance vocabulary; and musical collaboration. Gareiss received the 2020 Michigan Heritage Award, the highest state recognition bestowed on traditional artists.
When My Baby Cries (original song)
Huntsman’s Chorus (traditional fiddle tune)
“Schneckenburger’s playing is…quietly virtuosic…her voice is pure and clear, full of simple emotion.” – All Music Guide
“A virtuoso step dancer in Irish and Appalachian traditions…Gareiss is an undersung treasure.” – Brian Seibert, The New York Times