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Craig Edwards is a performing artist and teaching musician specializing in American roots music traditions. His work spans traditional fiddle styles (including Appalachian old-time, blues, bluegrass, Cajun, Cape Breton, Irish, and swing), five-string banjo, flatpicking and fingerstyle guitar, Cajun and Zydeco accordion, and solo and ensemble singing. His performances and instruction emphasize historical context, cultural transmission, and expressive authenticity.

 

Craig began playing music as a child in Staunton, Virginia, shaped by the Shenandoah Valley’s rich musical traditions and early exposure to traditional music at civil rights events. He holds a degree in ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University, where his research focused on American string band traditions and included fieldwork in West Virginia, North Carolina, Ireland, Louisiana, Nova Scotia, and studies with West African master musicians and dancers. His undergraduate thesis combined original research with solo and ensemble performance exploring the roots of Southern American string band music.

 

Craig has performed and toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe and formed numerous ensembles across a wide range of roots genres. He served for many years as a staff musician at Mystic Seaport and as Director of the Mystic Seaport Sea Music Festival, where he expanded programming to include diverse maritime traditions from African American, Afro-Caribbean, Native Alaskan, and other cultural communities. 

 

Craig currently performs solo and with multiple groups, teaches Traditional Fiddle Styles at Wesleyan University, designs music installations for museum exhibits, and has been recognized as a Connecticut Master Teaching Artist by the Connecticut Commission on the Arts. He now teaches at The United Theatre in Westerly, Rhode Island, and hosts the monthly Roots Music Stomp, using music as a platform for education, dialogue, and community connection.