Nora Brown with Stephanie Coleman - Millennium Stage (March 13, 2025)

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“Nora has a passion for the music of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee... with a thirst for storytelling.”
—Bob Boilen, NPR’s All Songs Considered

Nora Brown started learning music at the age of six from the late Shlomo Pestcoe. From his tiny studio apartment in Brooklyn, Pestcoe instilled in her the belief that music is meant to be shared.

First brought together by Brooklyn’s tight-knit old-time music community in 2017, Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman share a rich musical partnership. Brown is a banjo player and has released three albums on Brooklyn-based Jalopy Records. She has performed across the U.S., Europe, and Japan including on NPR’s Tiny Desk and TED EDU. Coleman is a master old-time fiddler, having recorded and toured internationally with celebrated artists such as trailblazing
all-women string band Uncle Earl, Rhiannon Giddens, Watchhouse’s Andrew Marlin, and Aoife O’Donovan.

In July 2023, Brown and Coleman released their debut EP Lady of the Lake on Jalopy Records. The release was followed by a duo performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. Folk Radio UK wrote that the EP “leaves you wanting more,” continuing, “There is a shrewd exuberance in the way Nora and Stephanie play together on this EP, taking turns to lead and leaving plenty of space for each other to shine. They play with consistent flair and an audible mastery of their instruments.” Brown and Coleman previously recorded together on Brown’s 2019 album Cinnamon Tree and have performed at such renowned venues as the Kennedy Center, Roskilde Festival in Denmark, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, and the Cambridge Folk Festival in the U.K.