(Submitted Photo)

OXFORD – House of Hamill, a duo officials described as “on the bleeding edge of a new generation of traditional musicians,” will bring its unique blend of music to 6 On The Square in Oxford at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, capping the evening of events all day at OXtoberfest.

According to event representatives, Rose Baldino and Brian Buchanan met 10 years ago, late one night backstage at a theater in rural Pennsylvania.

Officials said Buchanan's band Enter the Haggis and Baldino's group Burning Bridget Cleary were sharing a stage that evening, and the two bonded over a love of Irish fiddle tunes, Radiohead and 4 a.m. whiskey.

Their paths crossed a dozen times over the next decade on the road, but it wasn't until the Folk Alliance 2014 conference in Kansas City that they finally became musical collaborators.

Burning Bridget Cleary's guitarist and drummer had their flights canceled at the last minute, and in desperation, Baldino asked Buchanan to grab a guitar and join her onstage. The two performed with virtually no rehearsal for over an hour, and their connection was powerful and immediate. A few months later Brian moved from Canada to Philadelphia, and as a tribute to the first tune Baldino ever taught Buchanan, House of Hamill was born.

Both Baldino and Buchanan are accomplished traditional fiddle players and classical violinists, with over 25 years of writing and performance experience between them. Together, they write unusual new fiddle tunes and exciting, unpredictable original songs while breathing new life into traditional and contemporary songs. Both are confident and unique lead vocalists, and the blend of their two voices in harmony is hypnotic and irresistible.

Whether House of Hamill is playing songs from their debut album "Wide Awake" (2016) or stomping through a set of original jigs and reels from their follow-up "March Through Storms" (2018), their chemistry onstage is always engaging and often hilarious.