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The Fitzmaurice Band plays the entire spectrum of this traditional music from the high and lonesome sounds of Bill Monroe and old time gospel hymns to contemporary bluegrass. The band is comprised of Maria & Sarah Fitzmaurice, Brandon Snellings, Mike Simms and Ethan Hughes. Identical twins Maria & Sarah Fitzmaurice have been singing together since they were very young. Their first singing experiences were with the church choir and later at parties and family functions. Their voices (Maria’s smokey alto and Sarah’s pure, soaring soprano) blend together beautifully is sibling harmony for a “bluesgrass” sound that is uniquely their own. Maria handles the rhythm guitar for the group and Sarah has just taken over playing bass.

Brandon Snellings from Fredericksburg, Virginia is a musical jack-of-all-trades. Brandon began playing mandolin when he was eight years old and by the age of sixteen he had added guitar and banjo to his bag of musical tricks. His tenor to baritone vocal range adds to his versatility. Brandon is also a member of the family gospel group III for Him and teaches banjo and mandolin at Pickers Supply in Fredericksburg.

Mike Simms, originally from Nokesville, Virginia has been playing guitar and banjo since his early teens. Mike has quite a bluegrass pedigree, being the great nephew of bluegrass greats Wayne and Bill Yates.

Ethan Hughes hails from the small town of Smyrna, Delaware and has been playing Dobro since his early childhood. The youngest member of the band at 16, Ethan has a style of his own and has added tremendously to the overall sound of the group.

The Fitzmaurice Band has recently made some festival appearances including the tenth anniversary celebration of Eastport-a-Rockin’ in Annapolis, Maryland and the thirtieth anniversary of the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival in upstate New York.