A young man with curly brown hair and a beard, wearing a red plaid shirt, holding an acoustic guitar, smiling outdoors against a mossy stone wall and rustic wooden steps.

Riley Calcagno (The Onlies)

Riley Calcagno is a fiddle, banjo, and guitar player, originally from Seattle, Washington. He grew up going to fiddle festivals and camps on the west coast, where he soaked up old-time music as he ran amongst jams and learned from older masters of the style. At age 7, he co-founded The Onlies, a stringband that is somehow still playing and performing together. In 2018, the band released a collaborative record with mentors and friends John Herrmann and Meredith McIntosh as the band The Ruglifters. Riley also plays in the duo Viv & Riley with guitar player and singer Vivian Leva. They have released albums of original songs on Free Dirt Records in 2021 and 2023 that were featured by NPR, Rolling Stone, and No Depression. Riley is an experienced teacher and has a passion and patience for passing along tradition and technique. Along with the members of The Onlies, he is a co-artistic director of The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes. He currently resides in Durham, North Carolina. 

A woman and a man sitting on a beige couch outdoors in a garden with dense green foliage background. The woman is wearing a colorful dress and the man is in a white shirt and patterned pants. They are relaxing with the woman reclining and the man sitting with one arm resting on the armrest.
Two people playing guitars outdoors in a wooded backyard, with a clothesline and hanging laundry in the background. The person on the left is a man sitting on a small vintage chair, and the person on the right is a woman lounging on a sofa.
A young man and woman sitting outdoors near a river, surrounded by trees and pink flowers.
Two friends sitting outside at night, blowing bubbles at each other and smiling.