A night of fiery fiddling is assured when Bobbi Nikles, Cathie Whitesides, Betsy Branch, and Michael Stadler -- all instructors at the FiddleKids summer camp -- take the Freight stage, kicking off this year's edition of the camp to an exciting start.

An accomplished, versatile musician with a special interest in Appalachian and Celtic fiddle styles, Bobbi Nikles currently performs with Wake the Dead, and is a shining star of the Bay Area Country Dance circuit. Bobbi is also the director of FiddleKids, a fun-filled, weeklong summer day-camp devoted to exploring traditional fiddle music through tunes, songs, dance, and art.

Cathie Whitesides fiddles Celtic, Anglo-American, and Eastern European music with soul and a passionate dedication to distinct ethnic styles that has won her national recognition. She has performed and taught at camps and festivals throughout the United States and Canada, from Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival to Puget Sound Guitar Workshop.

Excelling in Irish, old-time, French Canadian, Scandinavian, and jazz styles, Portland fiddler Betsy Branch shares her passion for a wide variety of traditional music both as a teacher and a performer. Her lively and lyrical style delights dancers and concert-goers throughout the Northwest.

Notable all-around musician Michael Stadler contributes his multi-instrumentalist talent in a broad mix of styles: country, folk, bluegrass, swing, Celtic and old-time. He is an accomplished and sophisticated player with a beautiful singing voice, who has recorded and performed solo as well as with many Bay Area artists, including Sylvia Herold and the Hanes Family.

Rounding out the faculty and tonight's gala is Evie Ladin, banjo player and dancer extraordinaire known to Freight audiences as a member of the Stairwell Sisters and Professor Terry�s Circus Band.

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