Tom Rigney

Fiddler Tom Rigney has spent more than twenty-five years shaping San Francisco's roots-music scene. After earning a Master's degree in fine arts from Harvard, he joined the ensemble Back in the Saddle on fiddle. His work on the group's debut album earned him a Bammie in the early 1980s. The band later released his original composition "Time & Again" independently, and the track became a regional hit. When Back in the Saddle disbanded, Rigney moved to Queen Ida & the Bon Temps Zydeco Band. Extensive touring with that group deepened his grasp of Louisiana traditions, especially zydeco, Cajun styles, and the broader musical currents of New Orleans. He carried those influences into his next project, the Sundogs, alongside T.J. Politzer and Joe Paquin. Over more than a dozen years the trio issued more than half a dozen albums, bringing their blend of blues, Cajun, and roots music to stages and festivals across the United States as well as in Europe and Canada. After the Sundogs, Rigney assembled Flambeau, whose lineup includes guitarist Danny Caron, accordionist and pianist Caroline Dahl, drummer Jimmy Sanchez, and bassist Steve Parks. Although Rigney writes most of the band's material, Flambeau also performs classic zydeco and Cajun numbers. In addition to his band recordings, he released the solo album Chasing the Devil on Parhelion in 1998. The son of the late San Francisco Giants infielder and manager Bill Rigney, he grew up in the Bay Area.