YARD SAUCE is a Maine-based, acoustic string trio featuring Chris Moore (mandolins and vocals), Jeff Christmas (guitar and vocals) and Callie Brennan (fiddle and vocals). Their dynamic live performances draw from the group’s eclectic musical tastes, diverse regional traditional music influences, and a deep catalog of original songs. Old-time, bluegrass, country and folk traditions (including traditional Shaker music) are all part of the mix in every live set. The trio trades off on lead vocal and harmony duties, delivering arrangements of traditional and original tunes with their distinctive, down-to-earth authenticity combined with virtuosic instrumental skills.

Jeff Christmas (guitar and vocals) began playing music when he was 6 years old. Since then he has made his way from pop guitar to musical theater to jazz bands to opera to Americana and just about everything in between. He is equally at home on the operatic stage and in a smoky bar. He also is addicted to that connected feeling we can find when playing music together in a room and works to find and cultivate that feeling with  collaborators. Jeff was raised in Burlington, North Carolina and has lived in California, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and South Carolina before moving to Portland in 2015. Jeff brings all of these regional and genre ingredients and eagerly mixes them into the gumbo that is Yard Sauce.

CALLIE BRENNAN (fiddle and vocals) was raised in Maine, where she spent her childhood writing short stories, practicing fiddle tunes, and tracking mud all through the house. At twelve years old she began studying with Ronald Lantz, who is to thank for her constant cracking of jokes. Callie received a Bachelor’s degree in violin performance from the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she studied with Lina Bahn and Harumi Rhodes. In her third year she traveled abroad to Sydney, Australia, studying under the tutelage of Ole Bohn at the Sydney Conservatorium. In 2016 she moved to London where she completed two Master’s degrees in music and violin performance at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and indulged in far too much tea. Back in the States, she held title positions with the Spartanburg Philharmonic (Concertmaster), the West Virginia Symphony (principal 2nd), and the Fort Collins Symphony (principal 1st), and section positions in the Colorado Ballet and Colorado Music Festival. Also appearing regularly with the Colorado Symphony and Colorado Opera, she (unfortunately) never did find the time to ski the Rockies – a reality she’ll never be able to live down. Callie has an extensive background in chamber music and has trained with ensembles such as the Portland String Quartet, Takács Quartet, Heath Quartet, Endellion Quartet, Chilingarian Quartet, and the Zodiac Trio. She has enjoyed several solo appearances with orchestra, performing the Walton Violin Concerto in Waterloo, London, and more recently, Mozart’s third concerto for violin with the Spartanburg Philharmonic, a concert sponsored by the Habisreutinger Stradivari Foundation. Having recently moved back to Maine, Callie now holds a position with the Portland Symphony Orchestra and has fulfilled her long-time dream of joining the Portland String Quartet. When not practicing or dashing off to rehearsal, she spends her time trail running, beach walking, and eating alarming amounts of chocolate.