CARTHAGE — The Gawler Family, best known for its collection of dance tunes in the Scots-Irish and French-Canadian traditions, will perform Wednesday, Dec. 26, at Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center.

The Gawlers will also take the stage at Unity College Center for the Performing Arts in Unity on Thursday, Dec. 27.

Joining John and Ellen Gawler on stage will be their three daughters, Molly, Edith and Elsie; son-in-law, Bennet; and Elsie’s partner, Tyler. They bring an eclectic assortment of old and new sounds from many folk traditions. Their repertoire may include a gutsy Appalachian work song, a “Sweet Honey in the Rock”  a cappella number, rollicking fiddle tune, poignant ballad or ode to everyday life. 

They accompany their warm interweaving family harmonies with fiddles, banjo, wooden banjo, cello, guitar, ukulele and piano. 

John Gawler is known for his fun-loving and original renditions of traditional music, as well as his finger picking guitar and frailing banjo. He has been a member of the Maine Country Dance Orchestra, Pine Hill String Band, Moosetones, Project Troubadour and Childsplay. Over the past four years, with the group Old Grey Goose International, he has shared his music with the people of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgzstan, Algeria, Benin, Poland and Cuba.

Ellen Gawler is a celebrated fiddler conversant in many styles, including Maritime, Irish, New England, Shetland and Quebecois. She has toured the Northeast, Northwest and Europe, and has recorded with groups such as the Pineland Fiddlers, Village Harmony, Pine Hill Band, Borovochani Duo, Maine Country Dance Orchestra, Trillium, Ladies of the Lake and Childsplay. 

Edith Gawler is accomplished on the fiddle, banjo and piano. She has traveled to Ghana with her sisters, learning the djembe and a host of African songs.

Elsie Gawler takes her inspiration from a new sound that incorporates the cello into folk music with a range of chops, backup rhythms and innovative chord structures. She delivers lively jigs and reels as easily as melancholy waltzes on her cello, and is a recent convert to the ukulele.

Molly Gawler is a performer with Pilobolus Dance Theatre’s international touring company. She has appeared on the Academy Awards show, Oprah, Japanese television and Late Night TV with Connan O’Brian. When at home, she sings and fiddles in her sisters’ folk music group, the Gawler Sisters, which toured most recently in Ghana. 

The concert will begin at 7 p.m. at Skye and 7:30 p.m. in Unity. A jam session will be held one hour prior to curtain at Skye. A brief contra dance will be held at both venues at the close of the concert. Tickets are $15 at the door. For reservations, call Skye Theatre at 562-4445 or UCCPA at 948-7469.