Summer Sundays: Bloodroot Gap

Formed after a serendipitous jam session at a Vermont bluegrass festival, Bloodroot Gap is a musical collaboration between brothers Rob and Jim McCuen (Swing Noire), Freeman Corey (Catamount Crossing, Big Spike Bluegrass) and Jake Munson.

Corey, a fiddle player who grew up on a dairy farm in Benson, is the son of a fine, old-time fiddler. He started playing at age 10, learning hundreds of Irish, Scottish and French-Canadian fiddle tunes from his father. Corey has become one of Vermont’s most sought-after traditional fiddlers, gracing the stage with Bob Amos and Catamount Crossing, Big Spike Bluegrass, The Haymakers and Spare Parts among countless other notable groups and musicians.

The McCuen Brothers have been performing side-by-side for nearly 30 years, founding the bands Wiley Dobbs, Acoustic Undermind, and Swing Noire, and sharing the stage with the likes of Frank Vignola, Jamie Masefield, Charlie Hunter and Doug Perkins. The brothers provide tight vocal harmonies and rhythmic accompaniment, as only twins can. Rob dazzles audiences with his fluid solos on mandolin and guitar, while Jim holds down the low end on upright bass.