E.T.E. with Russ Rentler
An “Agranoff Imperative“! This is one you won’t want to miss, says Program Chairman, Mike Agranoff.
When E.T.E. took the stage at the 2022 Old Songs Festival, it was like a tsunami hit the audience. Everyone, including myself (Mike Agranoff, Troubadour Program Chairman), was simply bowled over and swept away. Their music is steeped in the Quebecois (French Canadian) tradition, performed with the fire and power of the best bluegrass or Celtic bands, and yet with the precision and complexity of chamber music. They do it all with fiddle, guitar/bouzouki, cello, feet and voices, eschewing the electric instruments, drum kit, and electronic enhancements of so many “acoustic” traditional bands. This is exciting, foot-tapping, heart-thumping, music, whether you’re a fan of traditional string-band music or not.
(Note: “E.T.E.” is the initials of the bandmembers’ names, Elizabeth Moquin, Thierry Clouette, and Elisabeth Giroux, and also spells “summer” in French.)
Russ Rentler is a talented multi-instrumentalist performing original and traditional songs on hammer and Appalachian dulcimers, guitar, banjo, mandolin, bouzouki, autoharp and dobro. His songs have a humorous streak to complement the instrumental virtuosity.