David Bragger

About the Artist

Traditional fiddler and banjoist David Bragger is an enigmatic figure in traditional American folk music. He is a musician, teacher, documentarian, UCLA ensemble director, 78rpm record collector, and musical festival director. Having learned the “old-time” art of fiddling directly from two generations of traditional masters, David has been passing down these archaic musical secrets and sounds to fiddlers and banjo players worldwide through his teaching.

Described by Rolling Stone as the “curator of the American music preservationist initiative the Old-Time Tiki Parlour,” he founded the traditional folk label Tiki Parlour Recordings. His critically-acclaimed debut CD Big Fancy instantly put him on the traditional music map and paved the way for his groundbreaking sophomore release. In 2018, he and fiddler Susan Platz released the very first American old-time fiddle duet CD ever recorded: King’s Lament–Old-Time Fiddle Duets.

David has also recorded and/or performed with artists as diverse as Dom Flemons, Jamie Fox, Brad Leftwich & Linda Higginbotham, Hog-eyed Man, Rafe Stefanini, Bad Religion, Social Distortion, Paula Poundstone, and Greg Graffin. He also provided the banjo and fiddle solos for the western feature film “Gone Are The Days.”

David has also produced, directed and recorded over 30 albums and video projects for Tiki Parlour Recordings, and also curated the 78rpm compilations “Texas Hillbillies” and “Mississippi Hillbillies” for the UK label JSP Records.