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Founded in 2006 by four Berklee College of Music students, BMUZ decided to do something really different. They combined Scandinavian music and a nyckelharpa with American Old Time music, four and five string fiddles and a jazz and bluegrass guitarist. The result? A contemporary string band filled with epic triple fiddles, catchy melodies and driving rhythms full of raw energy and mashy quirk.

Although they think of themselves as a musical unit, the members of BMUZ each have their own individual sound. Bronwyn Bird grew up performing in musical theater. As a teenager, she discovered a nyckelharpa hanging on a neighbor’s wall, and quickly fell in love with the instrument. While spending a year in Sweden studying Swedish music, she built the nyckelharpa she currently uses. Andy Reiner grew up in a musical family and spent his childhood attending music camps where he was exposed to a myriad of styles of folk and contemporary music. He can’t choose which genre he likes playing the most, so he tends to successfully mesh them all together. Stash Wyslouch thought he was going to be an engineer until quite recently. His music has moved from heavy metal to bluegrass and jazz and draws on his Columbian and Polish background and love of reggae and funky grooves for his quirky compositions. Mariel Vandersteel grew up playing traditional Irish, Scottish and Quebecois music at contra dances as well as touring with Alasdair Fraser and the San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers and with the Black Brothers. Before Berklee, she spent her summers studying music in Ireland and across the US and has spent four months studying the hardingfele in Norway.

Blue Moose and the Unbuttoned Zippers has performed across the country at the Kennedy Center (Washington DC), The Freight and Salvage (CA), Club Passim (MA) and the Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour (KY). After playing in the Emerging Artist Showcase at the 2008 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, they were voted back to perform as the 2009 FRFF’s Most Wanted Artists. Other festivals they have performed at are: Blissfest, Champlain Valley Folk Festival, the New England Folk Festival and the Boston Celtic Music Festival. They have had official showcases at the International Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis, TN. and at the New England Regional Folk Alliance.

Blue Moose and the Unbuttoned Zippers have been called, “an extraordinary group of wonderful young musicians” (Matt Glaser, Berklee College of Music) and as, “a band you can’t put a label on.” (Matt Smith, Club Passim). Many have called BMUZ the next generation of roots and folk music and they have been compared to other genre-breaking bands such as Crooked Still, The Duhks, and Vasen. According to Paul Hartman, editor of Dirty Linen magazine, “the next generation…shows that folk/roots music is in good hands and will continue to be played and evolve…Just a few of the younger artists are Carolina Chocolate Drops, Crooked Still, Blue Moose and the Unbuttoned Zippers…” BMUZ is a truly eclectic band that continues to skillfully and creatively push the boundaries of folk music. While combining old melodies with quirky new compositions, it will be exciting to watch BMUZ’s future blossom.

They begin work on their first full-length record in early 2010, which will be produced by fiddler and songwriter, Laura Cortese.

Partial Listing of past shows:

-2009 Most Wanted Artists - Falcon Ridge Folk Festival

-2008 Emerging Artist - Falcon Ridge Folk Festival

-2009 New England Music Therapy Conference (NH)

-2008, 2009 Official Showcase at the International Folk Alliance Conference (TN)

-2008 Tricentric Showcase at the New England Regional Folk Alliance (NY)

-The Kennedy Center

-The Freight and Salvage (CA)

-Club Passim (MA)

-The Iron Horse (MA) (opening for the Waybacks)

-Trinity Church Wall Street (NY)

-Blissfest (MI)

-Champlain Valley Folk Festival (VT)

-Berklee Performance Center (MA)

-New England Folk Festival (MA)

-Boston Celtic Music Festival (MA)

-Toad (MA)

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