A Scottish fiddle icon, his two musician sons, and a Castilian fiddler and singer are bringing a brand-new sound to Cumberland this weekend, as the Alasdair Fraser Band performs its Rhode Island debut at Blackstone River Theatre on Saturday, October 10, at 7 p.m. The concert marks the family quartet's very first tour together, blending traditional Scottish repertoire with Iberian musical influences inside the intimate 549 Broad St. venue.
The show is the latest booking at a theater with its own milestone to mark. According to The Valley Breeze, Blackstone River Theatre will host the Alasdair Fraser Band's debut performance as a touring unit, with the lineup featuring Alasdair Fraser, his sons Galen Fraser and Cameron Fraser, and Spanish fiddler and singer María San Miguel. The Boston Irish Tourism Association describes the 165-seat space as an intimate concert hall and community cultural center, and reported that the theatre was looking forward to its 25th year in Fall 2025 under executive director Russell Gusetti, anchoring Broad Street with year-round heritage arts programming.
A New Chapter After 26 Years With Natalie Haas
This family project arrives at a pivotal moment for Alasdair Fraser, a Scottish fiddler with a concert and recording career spanning more than 30 years, per the Valley Breeze's reporting. For 26 years, he performed and recorded with cellist Natalie Haas, releasing seven duo albums before the pair announced plans to part ways in April 2026, with a final concert planned for June, according to The Strad. That duo was widely credited with reviving the historic Scottish tradition of pairing fiddle with cello, the publication notes. Fraser is also performing with this multi-generational family project.
Fraser's résumé stretches well beyond the folk circuit. The Valley Breeze reports he was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame in 2011, performed on the movie soundtracks of Last of the Mohicans and Titanic, and guested with the Chieftains, the Waterboys, and Itzhak Perlman. He has also appeared on A Prairie Home Companion and CBS TV's Kennedy Center Honors, the same report states.
Where Scottish Reels Meet Castilian Jotas
Crisol de Cuerda’s first camp took place in Sallent de Gállego, Huesca, in 2008, after Blanca Altable and Javier Ortega developed the idea. According to Crisol de Cuerda, Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas jointly directed that first camp, which moved to locations in Burgos in 2009 and 2010. His son Galen Fraser and María San Miguel, a native of Castile and a graduate of the Oviedo Conservatory who specializes in traditional Castilian fiddle, singing, and playing the pandereta, are also part of the musical project, per the KVMR Celtic Festival.
Galen Fraser is now San Miguel's musical and life partner, according to the Valley Breeze. The two released their debut duo album, Dots of Light, in 2023, blending Castilian and Celtic influences. Galen earned a bachelor's degree in songwriting from Boston's Berklee College of Music and released his debut solo album, Mischief Managed, in 2016 before joining international folk projects including the Atlantic Folk Trio and Soulsha, the KVMR Celtic Festival reports.
A Family Rhythm Section
Rounding out the quartet is Cameron Fraser, Alasdair's other son. The Valley Breeze describes the resulting sets as a mix of dance tunes, lyrical airs, original compositions, and unexpected musical journeys.
Tickets and Venue Details
Admission costs $25 in advance or $28 on the day of the show, with tickets available through brtri.org or by calling 401-725-9272 for reservations, the Valley Breeze reports. The concert is sponsored by Navigant Credit Union. The Saturday booking continues Blackstone River Theatre's traditional and world music programming.
