The Fiddleheads

New Haven’s venerable contra dance band was first formed in 1978 by Paul Englesberg and Pete Spicer. The present core band is Jim Sirch (banjo, whistles, and bodhran), Willow Sirch (fiddle), Gary Wikfors (mandolin and mando-ephemera) and Norman Plankey (guitar) with appearances by Colin Healy (fiddle/mandolin), Ambrose Verdibello (fiddle/banjo uke), Pat Plankey (upright bass) and other local musicians.The Fiddleheads band has seen many other fine players down through the years, including Michael Koenigsberg, Ellen Cohn, Skip Healy, and Michael Bell.They are the house band for the New Haven Country Dancers and enjoy playing for visiting callers like Pat Rust, Dan Pearl, Steve Holland and Al Brozek.