Jesse
guitar, mandolin, feet
One of the most sought-after accompanists in the New England traditional music scene, Jesse Ball is known for his commanding musicianship & infectious groove. A prolific composer, he's written many of the tunes in River Road's repertoire as well as for his duo project with Sarah-Hadley Yakir and band Calico. Offstage, Jesse runs live sound for various music & dance events and is also a Registered Piano Technician tuning pianos for fellow musicians in his community.
Sarah
fiddle
Sarah-Hadley Yakir is a violinist and fiddle player known for fusing styles in a way that is powerful, playful, and all her own. Her current projects include playing fiddle and arranging in the folk-trad trio River Road, singing and playing fiddle in the feminist harmony quartet Doozy Jane, and playing fiddle and arranging in her duo with Jesse Ball. She holds a BFA and MFA from New England Conservatory where she studied with Don Weilerstein and Soovin Kim. Other notable mentors include Zakhar Bron and Grigory Kalinovsky. She lives in Turners Falls, Massachusetts and enjoys hiking and dancing with her local folk dance community. She plays on a Lukas Wronski fiddle, an Alessandro Mizzadri violin, and a Benoit Rolland bow.
Kristen
piano, accordion, flute
Kristen Planeaux is a multi-instrumentalist based in Montague, Massachusetts. Her versatility as a player is grounded by her harmonic warmth and organic sense of rhythm. Classically trained on piano and flute, she has found her home playing for dances and concerts in the rich folk community of New England. Her decades of experience have taken her all over the country performing as part of River Road and other ensembles. When away from her instruments, she enjoys puzzles and word games of all kinds.