«The kinetic energy shows up in how, with each of their tunes, they take some very old roots many new places» - International Bluegrass Music Association

Meade Richter – fiddle, vocals Magnus Wiik – banjo, guitar, vocals

In the fall of 2015, American fiddler Meade Richter relocated to Oslo to study for his masters in improvised music. Upon being floored by hearing this kind of fiddle on this side of the pond, Magnus Wiik subsequently brought Meade along on every gig he had booked that fall with Open String Department and Julie & The New Favorites. Realizing that wasn't enough, they created Haley's Comet as a duo shortly thereafter. The name is a bit of a tribute to blind fiddler Ed Haley who has been a big inspiration for the two of them.

Haley's Comet have released four albums to critical acclaim. Their debut album Done Gone from 2017 featuring the extraordinary Ole Morten Vågan on bass, followed by Can't Make A Living and Live at Gjendesheim in 2019 (the latter documenting one of many stints of friendly concerts up in the Norwegian mountains) and Banjo Fiddle Forever in 2022 with a host of some of America's finest pickers. They have toured Scandinavia, Holland and Canada and turned heads with their kinetic interplay.

Meade Richter is a highly in demand fiddler residing in Boone NC. He has worked with many of the greatest in bluegrass, and spent a few years as a member of The Cleverlys. After winning the prestigious fiddle contest during the Fiddlers Grove festival in North Carolina for three years straight, he wasn't allowed to compete any more!

Magnus Wiik is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist with more than twenty critically acclaimed releases as a band leader. He has toured the world and worked with some of the biggest names in bluegrass, jazz and Irish folk music. In 2020 he released his first two solo albums where he plays 11 instruments and sings to universal critical acclaim.

(photo: Thor Hauknes)