Photo: Leonor Hopscotch · CC BY-SA 3.0 · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regional
Darol Anger
Person · male · United States · San Francisco · born 1953 · recording since 1979
American violinist
official homepagestreamingstreamingdatabasedatabasedatabasedatabase
Listen on SpotifyYouTube Music
Also known as ダロル・アンガー
Timeline
17 events▣ Album 15◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1
1950s
1970s
· Debut release
Debut release: Fiddlistics
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Biography
English biography432 words · 4 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1378919677
Biography
Darol Robert Anger is an American violinist and founding member of the David Grisman Quintet.
Career
Anger entered popular music at the age of 21 as a founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. Anger played fiddle to David Grisman's mandolin in The David Grisman Quintet's (DGQ) 1977 debut. He co-founded and named the Turtle Island String Quartet with David Balakrishnan in 1985 and performed, composed, and arranged for the chamber jazz group. He frequently collaborates with fellow DGQ alumnus Mike Marshall.
Anger met pianist Barbara Higbie in Paris and formed a musical partnership with her. Together they released an early record on Windham Hill, Tideline (1982). Two years later, they formed a group called The Darol Anger/Barbara Higbie Quintet with Mike Marshall, Todd Phillips, and Andy Narell. This group performed at the 1984 Montreux Jazz Festival. The quintet later took the name Montreux. After two studio releases, the band broke up in 1990, and Anger continued with the Turtle Island String Quartet, founded in 1985. He still collaborates with Montreux and fellow Psychograss colleague, Mike Marshall, and occasionally also collaborates with Barbara Higbie and Michael Manring.
Using classical, folk, and jazz music as springboards, he currently leads Republic of Strings, founded with Scott Nygaard. He also co-founded The Duo (with Mike Marshall), Psychograss (the bluegrass group including Mike Marshall, mandolin; Todd Phillips, bass; David Grier, guitar; and Tony Trischka, banjo), Fiddlers 4 (with Michael Doucet, Bruce Molsky, violins; and Rushad Eggleston, cello), and Mr Sun (with Joe K. Walsh, Grant Gordy, and Aidan O'Donnell). Anger also plays frequently with pianist Phil Aaberg. He has performed or recorded with musicians ranging from Tony Rice, Stephane Grappelli and Mark O'Connor to Marin Alsop, Bill Evans, Nickel Creek, Chris Thile & Punch Brothers, Yonder Mountain String Band, Béla Fleck, Taarka and Anonymous 4. He can also be heard on the NPR's Car Talk theme song. He is a MacDowell and UCross Fellow.
Since 2022 Anger has lived in Nashville, Tennessee, after moving from his long-time home in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has completed the construction of 2 violins under the guidance of luthier Jonathan Cooper and was in 2010 named Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music. He is now professor emeritus at Berklee.
In June 2011 he began teaching online at the Online Fiddle School with Darol Anger, as part of the ArtistWorks Academy of Bluegrass.
He was the Artist at Large at the 2018 John Hartford Memorial Festival.
Republic of Strings
2004 Republic of Strings
2006 Generation Nation
Mr Sun
2015 The People Need Light
2022 Extrovert
2023 Mr Sun Plays Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 8 | 49.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 17 | 85.9th |
| Studio albums | 15 | 94.6th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 17 | 92.4th |
| Recording span (years) | 46 | 86.9th |
| Genres | 4 | 84.7th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (17 release groups · 15 studio albums)
Albums · 15
1979 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks
1Key Signator2Blue Midnight3Old Grey Coat4Moose The Mooche5Ride The Wild Turkey6Dysentery Stomp7Brann St. Sonata8Old Folkies9Megatones1982 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 41:00
A1Tideline4:34A2Movie1:47A3Above the Fog3:50A4Keep Sleeping4:22A5Onyamé5:49B1True Story4:22B2Fortunate3:20B3Gemini1:02B4Gualala5:41B5Lifeline6:131983 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 44:12
1Rotagilla3:522Lime Rock2:213Children's Song2:544Golden Slippers3:365N.K.F.4:016Wall of Mando Madness3:477Donna Lee2:248Free D4:089Bach Partita No.3 in E major for Solo Violin4:0710It's Dark5:2511Gator's Dream7:371997 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 14 tracks · 1:12:39
1Headwaters: Shenandoah2:242While Roving on a Winter's Night5:323Are You Tired of Me, My Darling?4:524Pretty Polly8:435Down in the Willow Garden4:476Hard Times Come Again No More3:557La Ville Des Manteau4:408Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow5:509Oh, Death4:2410Shenendoah: A Quiet Place, Golden Slippers3:2411Talk About Suffering Here Below6:1812The Water Is Wide6:4013Queen of the Earth, Child of the Stars3:4314To the Sea: O Shenandoah!7:271999 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 15 tracks · 1:06:07
1Melt the Teakettle5:202Lee Highway Blues4:293Les barres de la prison3:334Banish Misfortune3:225John Henry5:456A Little Help From My Friends3:577Voodoo Chile5:018Bemsha Swing4:069Tone Guys' Boogie2:4010Aran Boat Song4:1811Working on a Building Medley6:4212Willow Garden Fantasy4:1013Carroll County Suite - Where'd You Say You From?2:3814Carroll County Suite - Blues5:5515Celtic Groove4:111999 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 1:11:24
1Couscous6:412The Gator's Back8:293Thrice Told Is True7:334Purple Haze5:225Bach: Sarabande in B Minor4:276Blues for Oaktown6:347Day 1/Tune 17:168Flight of the Fly3:359Deep Blue5:2110New Spring5:0911Autumn Aleatorics10:572000 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:09:52
1Coal Burnin' Grease Fire5:582Queequeg's Big Adventure5:113Around Here6:024Zakir6:005Goodnight Manatee6:556The Fall8:467Our Life4:268Tuesdays at 7:306:449Emu's Blues5:1010Brooksboro Terrace14:402004 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 13 tracks · 1:08:53
1Lost in the Loop5:392Higher Ground3:563Grigsby's Hornpipe5:344Old Dangerfield5:185Help Me3:186Andre de Sabato Nuovo6:347Sneezin'5:338Ouditarus Rez5:109Where to Now?5:1610Afro Suite: Evening Prelude2:0211Afro Suite: Evening Prayer Blues3:1212Afro Suite: Dzinomwa Muna Save6:4713Sand10:342006 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 19 tracks · 1:05:13
1I'm on My Journey Home2:152An Address for All (instrumental) / Like Noah's Weary Dove4:223Wayfaring Stranger3:584Wayfaring Stranger (instrumental)1:395Where We'll Never Grow Old3:326Ecstasy3:247The Wagoner's Lad2:508Mercy-Seat4:149Return Again2:5310The Lost Girl3:5311Palmetto3:2712Pleading Saviour2:2213Merrick4:2514The Shining Shore4:4515Saint's Delight4:0016Just Over in the Gloryland2:5717You Fair and Pretty Ladies3:3818Parting Friends / Wayfaring Stranger (instrumental)2:4419Green Pastures3:552007 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 14 tracks · 53:28
1Intro0:312Peter Pan3:093Slip and Slide6:134Who Had Whom5:595Borealis7:376Interlude #10:277The Unbearable Gift7:048Bach, Up5:429Interlude #20:2810Replaceitall4:1711Hearts Wait6:1112Interlude #30:1813The Creep4:2914Outro1:03Mike Marshall & Darol Anger with Väsen
2007 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 50:07
1Loke’s Troubles3:182Skridskolåten5:233Couscous6:344Timo’s Jig4:295Penknife Killer5:556Egypt6:577Yew Piney Mt4:578Forslund3:499Misch Masch4:3110Os Pintinhos4:142014 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 58:28
1The Gravel Shore5:012Farewell to Trion5:013Fiddler's Pastime5:584Homer the Roamer3:535Denver Belle3:586La Ville Des Manteaux7:077Pogo Big5:058Scarborough5:489High Ham5:3910Canyon Moonrise6:0711Grey Owl4:51American Postcard: Irish American Folk Classics
2016 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 17 tracks · 32:31
1Fresh Barnyard2:082Corkscrew Turnstile1:063Big City Country2:204Mud Flap Breakdown1:475June Bug Firefly1:506Bring It Jeddadiah2:177Grass Beetles1:448Waking Up New2:569Home Again2:4210Nighttime Navigation2:1611Flood Plain3:3112Rains Begin2:0713Waters Recede1:1214Sunrise1:0315Pack for the City0:5216Open for Business1:2717Missing Home1:132024 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 43:36
1Lockdown Breakdown5:472Can I Change My Mind3:383Richmond3:344Abraham Martin & John / Morgan on the Railroad4:455Hjaltadans / Hunter’s Grove3:596The Old Blue Bonnet3:127Creaking Tree2:578Kvartetten / The Fox Halling5:519Ain’t That Trouble in Mind3:1010Piney Woods / Grigsby’s Hornpipe6:43Diary of a Fiddler #2: The Empty Nest
2025 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 16 tracks · 1:32:14
Disc 11Liza Jane Parade6:282Ouditarus Rez6:473I Coulda Told U6:394Melt the Teakettle5:065The Coal Burnin’ Grease Fire5:596The Gravel Shore6:507Tree King Creek3:468Liza Jane Reboot2:56Disc 21The Amen Corner6:282The Dysentery Stomp6:183The Unbearable Gift8:144U Noticed Too5:165La Ville Manteaux6:216The Jeremy Reel3:077Key Signator6:328The Crooked Road to Emy5:27
Album · 2
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | ChiaroscuroSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 10 tracks · 46:491Dolphins4:18 2Saurians' Farewell4:41 3Beneath the Surface2:49 4Spring Gesture7:50 5Bach Prelude2:31 6Piacenza4:07 7Coming Back4:16 8Dardanelles6:51 9Bach Bourrée (From the French Suite)3:09 10Beloved Infidel6:17 | Compilation | 1985 | |
| 2002 | At Home and on the Range: The Duo LiveSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 12 tracks · 1:02:581Down in the Willow Garden4:45 2Big Man from Syracuse3:47 3Vasen Your Seat Belt / The Crossing7:39 4Shoot the Moon4:34 5Gator Strut6:24 6Fiddles of Doom Medley: Old Dangerfield3:55 7Fiddles of Doom Medley: Big Mon4:00 8In the Pines5:28 9Hot Nickles5:16 10Shebag, Shemor4:23 11Jerusalem Ridge5:48 12Frogs on Ice6:59 | Live | 12 February 2002 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Darol Anger head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 8 | 49.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 17 | 85.9th |
| Studio albums | 15 | 94.6th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 17 | 92.4th |
| Recording span (years) | 46 | 86.9th |
| Genres | 4 | 84.7th |
Awards & honours
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychograss(band) | — | present | |
| Fiddlers 4(band) | — | present | |
| Montreux(band) | — | present | |
| Darol Anger's Republic of Strings(band) | — | present | |
| Mike Marshall Quintet(band) | — | present | |
| Mr Sun(band) | — | present | |
| Darol Anger / Barbara Higbie Quintet(band) | — | present | eponymous,original |
| Darol Anger & The American Fiddle Ensemble(band) | — | present | eponymous,original |
| NewGrange(band) | — | present | |
| The Fiddlers' Krewe(band) | — | present | |
| The David Grisman Quintet(band) | — | present | fiddle |
| The David Grisman Quintet(band) | — | present | mandolin |
| Turtle Island String Quartet(band) | 1985 | 1997 |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Darol_Anger_July_2013.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/3bbd5ed8-8a84-41e7-91cf-945162aa7cdbdiscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/3bbd5ed8-8a84-41e7-91cf-945162aa7cdbcore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3016430genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3016430seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darol_Angerbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darol_Anger
Why this artist is in the database
- List of bluegrass musicians
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Leonor Hopscotch · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q3016430 · MusicBrainz: 3bbd5ed8-8a84-41e7-91cf-945162aa7cdb
Similar artists
Browse every Tier 3 artist →Ranked from this record's own data: shared genre tags (rarer tags weigh more), era, home country and comparable fame. Every card lists the signals that placed it — no editorial picks.
David Darling
United States · Person
new age music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1980, 1 year apart · from United States
15 wikis
Gandalf
Austria · Person
new age music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1981, 2 years apart
10 wikis
Karl Jenkins
United Kingdom · Person
new age music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1981, 2 years apart
33 wikis
Kitarō
Japan · Person
new age music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1978, 1 year apart
44 wikis
Yanni
Greece · Person
new age music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1980, 1 year apart
50 wikis
John Tesh
United States · Person
new age music
1 shared genre tag · from United States
12 wikis
Hajime Mizoguchi
Japan · Person
new age music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1986
8 wikis
Loreena McKennitt
Canada · Person
new age music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1985
49 wikis