Fiddler Brittany Haas, currently a member of Hawktail, Punch Brothers, and Crooked Still, has been awarded the 2025 Eisenson Family Prize for American Roots Music from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. The award comes from an endowed fund named in honor of former Berklee trustee Michael Eisenson to enable an outstanding roots musician to visit the campus and work with students each year.
The annual recipients are determined by Matt Glaser, artistic director of Berklee’s American Roots Music Program, in which students may choose bluegrass music and bluegrass instruments as their primary area of study.
Bruce Molsky, noted old time fiddler and visiting scholar in the Program, says that Haas is an obvious choice for this honor.
“Brittany is the voice of what fiddling has become and where it’s going, an artist who floats seamlessly and naturally and humbly between styles, while embracing and amplifying everything that’s beautiful about the instrument. We’re thrilled to welcome her to Berklee!”
Previous recipients of the Eisenson Family Prize include Berklee graduates Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, and Allison De Groot, along with Rhiannon Giddens, Jontavious Willis, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, and Laura Orshaw.
Brittany is originally from northern California, living now in Nashville where she is a busy player. On top of her touring work with Hawktail and Punch Brothers, she has recorded and performed with all sorts of prominent artists, including Béla Fleck, Vince Gill, Abigail Washburn, the Dave Rawlings Machine, and Steve Martin, with whom she appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and Saturday Night Live.
Here she is ripping through Shenandoah Breakdown with Chris Thile on Live From Here a few years back.
Haas is delighted to accept this award.
““I am extremely honored to be receiving the Eisenson Family Prize. So many of my favorite musicians have taught at or attended Berklee College of Music, so it is a delight to get to visit those hallowed halls. I can’t wait to hear what the students are up to.”
A visit to the Berklee campus is scheduled for April 14-15, where she will work with student ensemble, and offer private lessons and master classes.
Congratulations Brittany!
