Nikolai Fox (b. Philadelphia, 1976) is a songwriter and multi instrumentalist who's style is heavily influenced by traditional acoustic music. He began multi-tracking original instrumental compositions which he calls 'sketches' or 'interludes' and writing songs as a teenager growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. While in high school a friend invited Nikolai to a new years party at which flamenco guitar was played informally in the kitchen well into the morning hours. The emotion, presence and technique evident in such a casual musical setting made a deep impression. Nikolai's appreciation for traditional acoustic music was reinforced when he was introduced to old-time and bluegrass music by friends he met while earning an undergraduate degree in Human Ecology at College of the Atlantic.

In 2002 Nikolai returned to Philadelphia to study painting and drawing at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, from which he was distracted by a Thursday night old-time, country and bluegrass session where he played clawhammer banjo. Between 2000 and 2016, Nikolai's primary musical endeavor was learning old-time fiddle and becoming competent on a range of acoustic instruments. He was greatly influenced by the community of revivalist musicians in New England and moved to Portland, Maine in 2003 where he started several local old-time sessions and performed in traditional bands. In 2010 Nikolai released his first album titled, “Songs & Interludes by Nikolai Fox" (to read a review click here). In 2016 Nikolai moved back to Bar Harbor where he has focused on his solo guitar playing and songwriting, which is evident in his most recently available recordings made this winter and presented as “Bar Harbor Demo”.