Projects.
Good Company
Good Company is a trio that primarily plays for contra dances around New England. They draw their material from Irish, Scottish, New England, and Quebecois folk traditions, as well as original material heavily influenced by those traditions. The band includes Helen Kuhar on guitar and vocals, Cecily Mills on Cello and vocals, and Rohan Weeden on Fiddle. They bring the playfulness and dance-ability that hallmarks good contra dance music to all of their performances, regardless of venue.
Helen & Rose
Rooted in the musical traditions of New England, Helen & Rose present traditional tunes from Ireland, New England, Quebec, and France, and craft vocal harmonies for age-old songs with modern relevance.
Rose Jackson came up in the rich folk scene of western Massachusetts. Equally at home in the concert hall and on the dance stage, she studied under fiddler Becky Tracy (Nightingale, Wild Asparagus) from whom she inherited a wide repertoire of music from Quebec, New England, Ireland, and France, a deep love for old tunes, and the intuitive sense of rhythm and danceability which infuses her playing. From multi-instrumentalist Pete Sutherland (Pete’s Posse), she developed her ear for song arrangement and harmony. She's toured festivals nationally with her band Polaris, and now plays with her quartet Stove Dragon and duo Helen & Rose. In 2024, she received one of the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s competitive Grants for Creative Individuals for her work as a tradition-bearer of New England fiddle music.
Hailing from Seattle, Washington, Helen Kuhar currently resides in Cambridge, MA. Helen began exploring their connection to folk and Celtic music in 2020 while studying with renowned guitarist Alex Sturbaum (Countercurrent, The Engine Room). Since then, Helen has become involved in the thriving New England music scene through playing contra dances and concerts with their band Good Company. Helen also performs with Upstate New York fiddler Tim Ball, whose debut solo album Upstate Crossroads was the No. 1 CD of January 2023 on the FAI Folk music chart. Helen can also be found leading Irish sessions in and around the greater Boston Area.
Together, this duo Helen & Rose invite audiences in for stories, melodies, and lyrics that unite us all in our shared humanity.
