This is Maggie's Boots

Hollis Payer has been playing traditional Irish music on the fiddle ever since she heard The Chieftains perform in 1979.  As soon as she could, she left for Ireland, to listen and learn.  Returning to the states, she settled in Portland, Oregon, where she met fiddler Kevin Burke, and learned some more.  After moving to Philadelphia, Hollis played in many musical groups, anchored a multitude of Irish music sessions, and has become known as a teacher of Irish fiddle and tunes.  She and Rob began playing together in 2017 and formed Maggie’s Boots in 2018. 

Rob Curto is a composer and musician with a reputation for dizzying skill and deft mastery of the accordion across musical and geographical boundaries.  For over 20 years Rob has performed, recorded, and toured extensively and been a staple at music festivals and events.  Traditional Irish music has been his recent focus, after meeting and studying with Billy McComisky, John Whelan, and PJ Hernon. Curto is profoundly interested in the (relatively) recent history of accordion in traditional Irish music, a passion that has brought him zigzagging around West Kerry and Co. Sligo, joining sessions and absorbing tradition and tunes. He now lives in Philadelphia with his wife and abundance of pets, and when not on the road with his America Roots band, Fish Harmonics, or playing with Maggie's Boots, can often be found at sessions in Philadelphia and Baltimore.

Melissa Brun, cello, is classically trained, with a background in musical theater.  She came to folk music in the summer of 2009 when she attended Mark O’Connor’s fiddle camp in NYC.  From there, Melissa attended the Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddle School and the Mike Block String Camp, first as a student, then as part of the faculty.  Melissa has also taught at the Flapping Fiddle School in Phoenixville, PA, and the Kenossee Lake Kitchen Party in Saskatchewan, Canada.  She played with Fire in the Glen, a local Irish trio, and is a founding member of the chamber-folk sextet, The Sound Accord who frequently tour around the country presenting concerts and educational workshops.  Melissa joined Rob and Hollis in Maggie’s Boots the fall of 2019.