AZ Speaks - “The Wild West Fiddle Project: Arizona's Hidden Soundscape”

Join Dr. Kate Rose and Armand Ramirez for a fun, all-ages, interactive performance that uncovers Arizona’s rich blended heritage through traditional folk music and dance. Featuring live fiddle and guitar music and storytelling, this experience reveals how pioneer musicians, whose roots spanned old worlds and new terrains, integrated their traditions with those of neighboring communities. Connection with the land shaped these emerging traditions, where Celtic melodies and Hispanic rhythms interweave seamlessly. We will hear revived tunes showing how cultures converged to create a unique sound, reminding us to connect with the beauty of our state’s open skies, deep canyons, and vast forests.

This presentation is being held at Surprise City Hall in the Council Chambers – 16000 N. Civic Center Plz.

Events are free, but registration is required at surpriseaz.gov/ArtsSignUp

This program is made possible by Arizona Humanities

Musician & Researcher

Dr. Kate Rose is a Flagstaff-based fiddler, researcher, and tradition-bearer leading the Wild West Fiddle Project and directing the nonprofit Wild Steps. Having spent two years studying with fiddling farmers in County Clare, Ireland, Dr. Rose brings a deep sense of music as rooted in landscapes and the rhythms of rural life. Her research and unique performing style reveal and revive the cross-cultural music and dance traditions of the American Southwest. She suggests that when we go deep into our own roots, they naturally intermingle with the deep roots of others' traditions. Her talks, which present history through true stories of Arizona musicians from our past, are often accompanied by master rhythm expert Armand Ramirez (guitar), whose rootedness in Hispanic traditions adds historical depth and musical magic. They perform regularly as the duo Wild World Irish Fiddle: https://www.youtube.com/@WildIrishFiddle.

Armand Ramirez, guitarist, is a master multigenre player with decades of professional musicianship, an amazing ear, and a creative, danceable flair. His wide-ranging experience includes jazz, celtic, classical, flamenco, folks traditions, and Latin music. He is also a passionate researcher of local history and his own family’s rooted Arizona connections, bringing a multidisciplinary approach to cultural storytelling and music.