We’re thrilled to be included as a venue for the Bill Verdier Irish Music Scholarship - click here to apply

Irish fiddler Bill Verdier (1958-2022), grew up around Philadelphia, PA and Fairfield, CT. He took violin lessons as a child and studied classical violin at Keene State University, NH.  Inspired by a Kevin Burke concert in the early 80s, Bill began a life-long exploration of traditional Irish music, listening widely and deeply to recorded music and cultivating friendships with Irish musicians wherever he found them.  Through the 80s and early 90s he worked for the Green Linnet Record label, hosted a radio show on WPKN in Bridgeport, CT, and played open mics, pubs, and festivals around New England with several folk, Irish traditional, and country rock bands. After moving to Nashville in 1994, Bill played with several Irish traditional stage and dance bands, co-hosted long-running sessions at Sherlock Holmes’ Pub, McNamara’s, and other venues, and created and co-hosted the radio show “Down the Back Lane” on WXNA, in Nashville.

Support: Thanks to the contributions from many generous donors we have been able to provide grants in 2023 and 2024 to exceptionally gifted young musicians from the U.S. to attend major traditional music events. We are looking for additional support to build an endowment that will continue this into the future. If you would like to help fund this scholarship to honor Bill and support the Irish music tradition in the U.S., please visit our donations page, or contact billverdierscholarship@gmail.com for more information. The Bill Verdier Irish Music Scholarship (EIN: 88-4076757) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, all contributions to the scholarship are tax-deductible.