Courtesy of the artist
David Bragger
Traditional fiddler and banjoist
Traditional fiddler and banjoist David Bragger is an enigmatic figure in traditional American folk music. He is a musician, documentarian, UCLA ensemble director, 78 rpm record collector, and music 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. 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 first American old-time fiddle duet CD ever recorded, King’s Lament—Old-Time Fiddle Duets. David has also recorded and performed with artists as diverse as Dom Flemons, Jamie Fox, Brad Leftwich and 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 produced, directed, and recorded more than 30 albums and video projects for Tiki Parlour Recordings. He also curated the 78 rpm compilations Texas Hillbillies and Mississippi Hillbillies for the U.K. label JSP Records.
Old-Time Tiki Parlour’s Website
Apprenticeship Program
2026
Old Time Banjo and Fiddle in the Traditional African American Style with Hannah Mayree
Hannah Mayree will learn from David Bragger the African American-rooted traditions of Old-Time banjo and fiddle music, musical genres established by African Americans throughout the forced diaspora of chattel slavery in North America and the Caribbean. The banjo and fiddle traditions draw from musical practices with roots in African gourd instruments and have been passed from person to person through generations of folk tradition. The apprenticeship will focus on clawhammer and two-finger banjo techniques, rhythmic fiddle bowing, genre-specific tunings, and traditional repertoire, deepening Hannah’s skills while carrying forward an ongoing cycle of learning, playing, and sharing songs.
