Brown’s talent for combining the precision of classical music with the spontaneity of country and bluegrass makes for a fun-filled performance every time she plays.

Erica Brown and the Bluegrass Connection will perform at the Sawyer Memorial in Greene on Friday, June 16 at 2 and 7 p.m. Both shows are free and open to the public. Brown brings a special energy and style to the Maine music scene. Her talent for combining the precision of classical music with the spontaneity of country and bluegrass fiddle makes for a fun-filled performance every time she plays.

Her band, the Bluegrass Connection, is comprised of some of the finest musicians in New England, and together, they have performed at venues and festivals including One Longfellow Square, the Stone Mountain Arts Center, the Franco Center, the Big E, the American Folk Festival and several festivals in Prince Edward Island, Canada. They have opened for such luminaries as Dwight Yoakam, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder.

Erica Brown started playing fiddle at the age of six and began performing at the age of nine. She has won numerous fiddle contests in New England and Canada. In 2003, she was named Junior Female Entertainer of the Year by the Maine Country Music Association and in 2006 she received the Harold Carter Memorial Award from the Down East Country Music Association. She was the recipient of a Maine Arts Commission Traditional Arts Apprenticeship in 2006 and is now recognized by the Maine Arts Commission as a Master of Traditional Fiddling.

Brown has a strong desire to share her knowledge with anyone who has an interest in music and the fiddle. A music educator for over 12 years, she has helped bring music into several elementary schools by holding workshops and performing. She recently opened a teaching studio in her Portland home called Darlin’ Corey Studios, where she and her husband, Matt Shipman, give lessons to people of all ages and abilities.

The Araxine Wilkins Sawyer Memorial is located at 371 Sawyer Road in Greene. For more information, call 946-5311 or see sawyer-foundation.com.