Stanley & Grimm

Nikki and Sean named their duo Stanley & Grimm, after the maker of Nikki’s violin (F.O. Stanley, inventer of the Stanley steam engine) and the maker of her bow (Grimm). Their music and performances are never the same and always feature an entertaining mix of old and new tunes from many different traditions, and classic and modern songs both fun and sad. The infectious fun they have on stage and their intense playing make for a great night of music and entertainment, and have helped them to become fan favorites on the New England traditional music scene.

Fiddler Nikki Engstrom and guitarist and singer
Sean Brennan have been playing throughout New
England as the duo Stanley & Grimm at concerts,
house parties, pubs and festivals for the last three
years. Having met and played together at local
sessions on Cape Cod, Nikki and Sean made their
debut appearance as Stanley & Grimm at the 2005
Cape Cod Celtic Festival where they opened for
the internationally known Cape Breton group
Beolach. In the following three years they have
recorded two CDs of traditional material and
original compositions and arrangements, opened
shows for Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill,
Liz Carroll & John Doyle, and traveled throughout
New England playing concerts, house parties,
festivals and pubs to a growing base of fans.

Nikki Engstrom is an accomplished, award winning fiddler and teaches many workshops at festivals throughout the year while maintaining over 30 full time private students on the Cape. She has performed, competed, and taught throughout New England and Canada. In addition to her inspired and intense fiddle playing, Nikki has also composed many original tunes such as the popular “Little Hawk” and “The Huntress” and continues to come up with exciting and original arrangements of old and new tunes.

Sean Brennan has been playing in sessions and entertaining in pubs for many years in Boston and on Cape Cod. He has had the honor of playing shows with Jerry Holland, Eamon Coyne and Patsy Whelan, as well as playing regularly with the well known Dublin balladeer Dave Hickey. On top of the many ballads and songs Sean has collected in his repertoire, he has also written many of his own songs that have become quite popular with Stanley & Grimm fans such as “Galway Senorita” and “Last Nights Fun”.

Nikki and Sean named their duo Stanley & Grimm, after the maker of Nikki’s violin (F.O. Stanley, inventer of the Stanley steam engine) and the maker of her bow (Grimm). Their music and performances are never the same and always feature an entertaining mix of old and new tunes from many different traditions, and classic and modern songs both fun and sad. The infectious fun they have on stage and their intense playing make for a great night of music and entertainment, and have helped them to become fan favorites on the New England traditional music scene.