Photo: Roz Phillips
Stuart Mason is known in the California traditional music community for his authentic singing, melodic mandola, and inability to hold his whiskey.
He has won awards for traditional singing (Goleta Old-Time Fiddler’s Convention), mandola (Topanga Banjo and Fiddle Contest), and songwriting (West Coast Songwriter’s Association). He has performed at festivals in China, Scotland, Ireland, and many of the United States. Stuart has been on guitar teaching staff at the CTMS Solstice Festival and Lark Camp.
Stuart Mason Helmintoller was born in Buckhannon, West Virginia, and like many of his fellow Mountaineers, he grew up in Ohio. After high school, he supported himself playing bluegrass and country music. He graduated from Ohio State in 1981 and returned to West Virginia, where he lived in Upshur County, worked as a park ranger and traveled to local fairs and festivals from the eastern panhandle to the Kentucky border. While living in the remote cottage of his grandmother, he was exposed to the oldest forms of Appalachian fiddle music, which led him directly to traditional Irish and Scottish music.
Today, Stuart Mason maintains a busy schedule with folk bands Molly’s Revenge and Little Black Train. When not performing or doing studio work, he teaches, writes, and does Internet consulting.
