Community & contra dances
A whole evening of it. Lines, squares, contras and waltzes, played at tempos people can actually dance to.
Youth fiddle & contra dance band · Sisters, Oregon
We play the tunes and call the dances.
We're a bunch of Sisters middle and high schoolers who play old-time fiddle tunes for dancing. We call the dances ourselves and teach the steps first, so nobody has to know what they're doing ahead of time. The floor usually fills up with little kids and grandparents both.
What we do
We bring the band and the caller
You don't have to hire a caller separately. One of us does it, and we walk everybody through the steps before each dance.
Festivals & markets
Fairs, festivals, markets, picnics in the park. We've done a few of these around town and they're some of our favorites.
Weddings & parties
A barn dance is hard to beat at a wedding. If none of your guests have contra danced before, that's fine. That's usually how it goes.
About the band
Young players, old tunes
Scandalous Chutney came out of the Outlaw Strings Club, the free before-school strings program at the middle and high school here in Sisters.
Melissa Stolasz, who teaches science at the middle school and runs the club, spent about four years wanting to turn a room full of fiddlers into a real dance band. It finally happened in February 2025. We played our first community dance and The Belfry filled right up. Since then we've been learning tunes the way they've always gotten passed around, by ear and off each other, and playing them until the floor shakes.
- Every player is a Sisters middle or high school student
- We call our own dances and teach the steps first
- Money from our dances sends band members to summer music camps
- The program is backed by SFF Presents, who put on the Sisters Folk Festival
Close to two hundred people turned out for our first dance at The Belfry. Babies in arms all the way up to folks in their eighties. "Let's Dance!" · The Belfry, Sisters · February 2025
Upcoming shows
Where to find us
Nothing on the calendar just now. Which means we've probably got room for you. Dances tend to get booked months out, so it's worth asking early.
Where we've played
The Belfry, Sisters
Our "Let's Dance!" nights. The first one was in February 2025, then again that October and in February 2026. All of them benefits for the Outlaw Strings Club.
Sisters Folk Festival
September 2025, on the family stage at Fir Street Park. We ran the community dance.
Village Green Park, Sisters
Music and calling for the Citizens4Community picnic in August 2024. That was our first time out.
Wintergrass Music Festival
Our players have been on the festival stage with the Outlaw Strings club, including a 2026 Grand Ballroom set with Väsen, Bruce Molsky and Darol Anger.
Want us at your dance, market or party? There's a form further down.
The music
Reels, jigs & stomping tunes
Fiddles out front, guitars keeping time behind them. Old-time, Appalachian and Scandinavian tunes, all of it learned by ear.
Join in
This music gets passed along
Want to play?
Everybody in this band started at Outlaw Strings, the free club that meets before school. They'll loan you a fiddle if you don't have one.
Keep it going
Our dances raise money for the club. The first one brought in $1,900, and that's the kind of thing that sends players to summer music camps. SFF Presents, who put on the Sisters Folk Festival, backs the program too.
Book the band
Get in touch
Tell us what you've got in mind. Messages go to the grown-ups who organize for us, and we'll write back before long with dates and details.
- A full dance evening with calling, a festival set, or just music in the background
- Fiddles with guitar behind them, in whatever size fits your room
- We're in Sisters and happy to travel around Central Oregon
- Our rates are reasonable, and what you pay goes back into the program
It helps to know the date, where it is, what sort of event it is, and how long you'd want us playing.
Booking a dance and want to hear us first? Watch ten minutes of a real one, uncut.