“Doughnut Queen of the Yukon”
- Kelsey Nelson
Welcome to the official website of Yukon Fiddler, Singer and Songwriter Sarah Hamilton.
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For booking inquiries fiddle lessons or just to say hello
Bio/life story
Raised in Whitehorse, Yukon, by two professional musicians, Sarah Hamilton was surrounded by oldtime, bluegrass, ragtime and swing music from an early age. She has been playing fiddle since the age of six and started performing shortly after that in youth fiddle and theatre group, The Fiddleheads. At the age of 13, she started playing professional gigs in an oldtime stringband with her brother Patrick Hamilton, her father Bob Hamilton and singer songwriter Anne Louise Genest. The Done Gone Stringband played many local gigs across Canada and gave Sarah her first international touring opportunities in the US and China.
In 2010 Sarah relocated to Calgary to study Baking and Pastry at the Southern Alberta Institute on Technology, but it wasn’t long before she was playing fiddle with folk punk bands The Shillelaghs, Spencer Jo, and Calgary indie group Reuben and the Dark. A few years later with a taste for the city and a fresh diploma in her hand Sarah set out for Toronto to continue to pursue a career in music.
During her time in Toronto, Sarah worked as a supporting musician for Annie Lou, Donne Roberts, and many others. She also continued to grow as an oldtime musician in groups Pigeonhawk Stringband, The Living Daylights Stringband and by traveling to Appalachia for oldtime music contests and gatherings. In 2013 Sarah discovered a new musical passion: traditional jazz. Playing violin on old jazz and swing tunes in local jazz orchestra Combo Royale, she started to gain confidence as a soloist in this genre. Sarah he also discovered another side of her singing voice and gained more control and diversity. This expansion into jazz led Sarah to seek further education at Humber with jazz violin master Drew Jureka. Her passion for American music has pulled her around the states to study, observe, and participate in some of the finest Appalachian, Cajun and Swing music the vast country has to offer.
In 2018 she returned her hometown, where she is playing and singing with her family’s western swing band the Swingin’ Pines, touring with new a new bluegrass project Happy Trails, Prospector.