Ethan Setiawan & Fine Ground

bluegrass · newgrass · roots

Ethan Setiawan & Fine Ground is a Boston-based bluegrass quintet led by mandolinist and vocalist Ethan Setiawan, with BB Bowness on banjo and tenor vocals, Julian Pinelli on fiddle, Alex Rubin on guitar and baritone vocals, and Brittany Karlson on bass and tenor vocals. Setiawan grew up homeschooled in Goshen, Indiana, and came to the mandolin after trying cello, banjo and ukulele, choosing it because it was small but hit harder than the ukulele. He has won both the National Mandolin Championship at Winfield, Kansas and the RockyGrass mandolin championship in Lyons, Colorado, attended Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship, and has studied with Don Stiernberg, Mike Marshall and Caterina Lichtenberg. Fine Ground grew out of his wish to return to bluegrass after a solo path that ranged through Bach partitas and free improvisation: the albums Flux and Gambit, the latter released in March 2023, were produced by fiddler Darol Anger, and Encyclopedia Mandolinnica collects duets and trios. Setiawan also plays in the Scottish-American duo Hildaland with fiddler Louise Bichan, in the Acoustic Nomads, and in Band of Friends, a bluegrass quartet formed at Berklee. The quintet draws its players from the Northeast acoustic scene and pairs Setiawan originals with songs by contemporary and older folk writers. Its debut album, Little Storms, is set for release on October 2, 2026 through Adhyaropa Records, preceded by the singles Whiskey, Boys, Ships At Sea and The Clover Saloon. The record was made with engineer Dan Cardinal at Dimension Sound Studios, mixed by Setiawan and mastered by Dave Glasser at Airshow Mastering. The band works the New England folk-club circuit, including Club Passim in Cambridge and One Longfellow Square in Portland, Maine.

Subscribe to this calendar

Upcoming shows in Connecticut

Where they play in Connecticut

Shared bills in Connecticut

Upcoming shows in Maine

Where they play in Maine