Métis Fiddle Resources

updated 12/26/24

General Info

• Wikipedia article about Métis Fiddle

• Article in Encyclopedia of French Cultural Heritage in North America

• Metis Music - overview by Devon Leger. Canaidan Studies Center University of Washington

Films & Anthology Recordings

• Medicine Fiddle  - 1991 film by Michael Loukinen.

• DVD: John Arcand and His Métis Fiddle & Richard Lafferty: The Muskeg Fiddler  (produced by Gabriel Dumont Institute; originally 2 VHS tapes) 

• Drops of Brandy Volume 1 and Volume 2 plus companion book with sheet music (PDF). Originally issued on CD in 2002; now available as digital download from the Gabriel Dumon Institute.

• Gabriel Dumont Institute Virtual Museum of Metis History & Culture (Music & Dance section). Includes sample tracks of Drops of Brandy plus videos from its launch party.  See also YouTube playlist for Drops of Brandy CD Launch Party.

• Old Native and Métis Fiddling in Western Manitoba. -  field recordings by Anne Lederman. Out of print. Web page includes a couple of sample tracks.

• Plains Chippewa/Metis Music from Turtle Mountain - recording on Smithsonian Folkways.  Tracks 19-27.

• Wood That Sings: Indian Fiddle Music of the Americas - recording on Smithsonian Folkways.  Tracks 19, 22, 23.

Older Fiddlers

• The Grandy Project - fiddle repetoire of Grandy Fagnan (1902-1986) Camperville Manitoba.  Recorded by Anne Lederman

• Andy de Jarlis  (1914-1975) Manitoba.  Made many commercial recordings in the 1950's & 1960's.

• Lawrence "Teddy Boy" Houle (1938-2020) Ebb and Flow Manitoba

Contemporary Métis Fiddlers

• John Arcand (1942-) Saskatchwan

• John Arcand albums on YouTube

• Patti Kusturok Manitoba

• Patti Kustorok on YouTube.  Check out her "365/366 days of Fiddle Tunes" (2019 & 2023/24)

• Alex Kusturok Manitoba, Alberta

• Métis Fiddling for Dancing - Alex Kustorok, Donny L’Hirondelle and Garry Pruden. Recording available for free (download or streaming) 

• Keeping our Tradition: Fiddle - Alex Kustorok video fiddle lessons on AB Metis Youth YouTube channel

• Jamie Fox Montana

• Ruby John  Michigan

Other Contemporary Fiddlers

• Calvin Vollrath Alberta. In particular, look for his recordings "Metis Style Fiddle" (available as CD or download - samples available at the latter link. Also on YouTube) and Live from Randy's Kitchen (with John Arcand).

• Calvin Vollrath albums on YouTube

• April Verch.  Originally from Ontario (Ottawa Valley)

Camps & Festivals

• Camp Calvin: The physical camp is no longer happening, but it continues in virtual form  as Tuesday Online Workshops.

Dance (Jigging)

• Keeping our Tradition: Jigging - Luc Gauthier on AB Metis Youth YouTube channel

There are many videos of jigging on YouTube.

Academic Articles

• "La Grande Gigue Simple" and the "Red River Jig": A Comparative Study - Roy W. Gibbons 1980. A revised version of this paper, with all the transcriptions, extended examples (10 each of La Grande Gigue Simple and Red River Jig), and sonogram printouts, was included in National Museums of Canada Mercury Series paper Folk Fiddling in Canada: A Samplling (1981), along with ranscriptions for a handful of other Metis tunes.  This can be purchased as a PDF from University of Ottawa Press, downloaded or viewed via JSTOR, or accessed from the Internet Archive (requires a login).  Also, it may be possible to find a used copy of the hardcopy.   As of Dec 2024, one was available here.

• Old Indian and Metis Fiddling in Manitoba: Origins, Structure, and Question of Syncretism - Anne Lederman 1991.  Includes some transcriptions.