Caroline and Dan Hollingshurst have been playing music together since they met while studying Music at Cardiff University eight years ago.

A regular at festivals and dances around the country, Caroline is well known on the folk circuit as the fiddler with Stradivarious and ceilidh band Scotch Mist. Surrounded by folk music and dance from an early age she was a member of YoungFolk and the National Youth Folklore Troupe of England music and dance teams. Nowadays, Caroline spends much of her time running music projects and workshops for young people. In March 2003 Caroline won the annual London Fiddler’s Convention Contest (accompanied by Dan on piano).

Like Caroline, Dan is a classically trained music graduate. Pianist, conductor, trumpeter and composer, he is in demand as a freelance musician and workshop leader. In 2002 Dan participated in a pioneering folk mentoring programme ‘Passing Notes’. Under the guidance of Chris Wood, Andy Cutting and Folk Development Agency TAPS, he studied performance and workshop techniques and performed with Chris and Andy on one of their tour dates. Dan’s folk commitments include regular appearances at Cecil Sharp House and at clubs and festivals around the UK. At Christmas 2003 Dan was the guest musician at the popular Dutch Christmas Course, a long-running annual Dance festival in Holland. When he’s not playing, Dan can be found on the dance floor at dances and festivals around the country. In addition, Dan works full time for the Performing Right Society and is an amateur magician in his spare time!

Together, Caroline and Dan were finalists in the 2002 Hertfordshire Folk Association ‘New Root’s competition, which led to several bookings at folk clubs in the area. 2004 saw them playing in Germany, Holland and at the Eastbourne and Lichfield Folk Festivals in addition to their weekly appearances at dances and workshops at Cecil Sharp House and clubs around the UK. 2005 is an exciting and busy year, not least because they got married in June!