Newfield folk musician ready to tour after 2023 album release

Tim Ball’s parents were “folkies” and avid contra dancers who moved to Watkins Glen shortly after Tim, their oldest child, was born.

“Our parents didn’t play a lot of music themselves,” Tim said, “but we grew up hearing lots of great folk music — singers like Peter, Paul and Mary, Simon and Garfunkel, and traditional Irish and American fiddle music like the Boys of the Lough and Fennig’s All-Star String Band. I loved hearing interesting instruments like uilleann pipes [Irish bagpipes], concertina and hammered dulcimer, as well. “Prairie Home Companion” and “Thistle and Shamrock” were staples on the radio, and my parents would make cassette tapes to listen back to old shows.”

“When I was five my father brought home two Irish penny whistles with a method book, and we enthusiastically dove into learning it together,” he said. “I remember listening to ‘Sackett’s Harbor,’ fiddle tunes preserved in 19th-century upstate New York manuscripts, and ‘Toss the Feathers,’ a cassette our grandmother sent from Ireland. … She added a note that the banjo player was also her plumber.”

While attending Ithaca College, Tim found the local contra dance scene, and better yet, he met his wife-to-be Lydia, also at IC, at a contra dance. Over time, he became quite in demand as a dance musician, and after graduating he “fell headfirst into Ithaca’s vibrant Irish session scene.”

“Contra dancing, which is New England style folk dancing, is a social dance that is great fun to do with friends and a great way to make new friends,” Tim said. “Most of these dances are easy to pick up, and accessible to so many who want to join in the fun.”

During his time at Ithaca College, Tim studied classical violin, early music, jazz improvisation and Suzuki pedagogy. He earned a BA of Music in Violin Performance. While Tim studied violin, he realized that what he really loved was the fiddle. “I love the live music that one hears at contra dances,” he said. “You can see and hear how the dancing, with the tapping and the stomping, matches with the music. The whole room turns into one big band, all playing and moving together. I’ve enjoyed playing at contra dances and dancing in all kinds of places, from cozy local venues like Bethel Grove Community Center to huge halls like Glen Echo Ballroom in Washington, D.C.”

Since graduating, Tim and Lydia have remained in the Ithaca area, living in Newfield. Tim has gone on to teach string ensemble at the Ithaca Waldorf School in Danby, direct the Finger Lakes Fiddle Orchestra and lead a local Irish session at the Watershed. He also teaches violin as a visiting lecturer at Cornell and gives private lessons in his violin and fiddle studio in Ithaca.

One year ago, Tim produced and debuted his first solo album, “Upstate Crossroads,” which features “fiddle tunes and traditional songs from upstate New York and the surrounding areas, in old-time and Celtic traditions.” The CD was #1 on the prestigious Folk Alliance International (FAI) chart in January 2023, reflecting airplay on folk radio shows across the country. (The FAI is a trade organization of folk music.)

 “I’m drawn to music that tells stories about hard work, immigration, community and joyous celebration,” Tim noted. “I think those themes are as relevant now as they’ve ever been.”

When not on the fiddle, Tim joins the acclaimed Celtic trio Arise & Go as a guitarist. “We play a blend of Scottish, Irish and Atlantic Canadian [New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island] music. These traditions come from very distant areas, but they share common roots that go way back. A fun, full-circle moment for me was having our album ‘Meeting Place’ featured on ‘Thistle and Shamrock’ last year.”

In the summer, Tim puts on yet another hat — playing with Renaissance festival band Empty Hats in Sterling, New York, and also reuniting with other returning bands and their members. “It’s like coming home when we play together. … Some musicians travel the whole year playing at different faires around the country.” Many come from Florida or Texas up to Sterling and other shows in the Northeast.The whole Sterling Renaissance Festival runs seven weekends. “What I love about Renaissance Festivals is that they’re very theatrical,” Tim said. “The emphasis is on entertaining and connecting to the audience. It’s a very different experience from giving a classical recital.”

“I’ve toured through the northeastern U.S. playing with contra dance bands, and playing and teaching music at dance camps like Ashokan in the Catskills,” Tim said. “What I love most about traveling around and playing in all sorts of contexts is seeing people connect with old music, finding that it’s relevant to them now and forming communities with others who enjoy listening, playing or dancing.”

Join Tim Ball for one of his upcoming shows:

June 17 with String Theory at Triphammer Arts

July 3 with Arise & Go at Triphammer Arts

July 24 with Mark Bickford at the Newfield Summer Concert Series

July 6-Aug. 18 (weekends only) with Empty Hats at the Sterling Renaissance Festival

More dates and contact info