03/25/2026
We are thrilled to welcome as the final instructor to the staff for the Inaugural Billy Bob’s Texas Fiddle Clinic on April 12th, 2026!
Emily Jean is a 4-time New Mexico State Champion fiddler, born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Inspired early on by her uncle Jeff, a professional fiddle player, her parents put her in classical violin lessons at 4 years old. By 6, she had discovered bluegrass and Celtic tunes and fell in love with that world.
She grew up playing in a family band with her 2 siblings, performing across the region for nearly 20 years and building her chops on real stages from a young age. In high school, she dove headfirst into contest-style fiddling, competing regionally and nationally and earning the New Mexico State Champion title four times. At the same time, she stayed rooted in her classical background, performing with school and city orchestras and touring Germany with the Albuquerque Youth Symphony.
After high school, Emily continued playing with a range of bluegrass and country bands while pursuing a degree in String Pedagogy from the University of New Mexico. While there, she helped build a fiddle program from the ground up.
One of her proudest projects is “The Cactus Flowers,” a kids band she created from her own fiddle students. What started as lessons turned into a full band, with students learning multiple instruments, swapping roles on stage, and developing skills in everything from harmony singing to taking leads across multiple genres. This gave these students skills that would allow them to confidently pursue different roles, instruments, and genres in the music industry if they so choose.
In 2021, Emily made the move to Texas to chase music full-time. She now plays fiddle, acoustic, keys, and sings harmony in the band , touring the country, sharing the stage with her best friends and doing it all alongside her fiancé.
