Hamilton Tango Weekend | La 45 - Katharina Deissler

Videography by Ryan John Lee

Hamilton Tango Project | Tundra - Pétalo Selser

Videography by Ryan John Lee

Hamilton Tango Weekend | Fiebre - Pétalo Selser

Videography by Ryan John Lee

Featured Artist Series

Violinist Jessie Stark | Hamilton Tango Weekend

“When I started playing tango, I don’t think I was quite prepared for the extent to which it would impact me and how much I would fall in love with it,” she says. “I’ve immersed myself in many other styles in the past, but nothing has quite gotten under my skin the same way that tango has.”

When violinist Jessie Stark moved to Hamilton two years ago with her family, she wasn’t sure what kind of artistic community she would find. Coming from Urbana, Illinois, where she had been deeply involved in music and tango, she wondered if a small town could offer the same kind of creative energy and connection. What she found instead was a community eager to listen, learn, and experience new things.

Since arriving, Jessie has become a familiar face on the Palace stage, performing in a variety of bands, shows and projects over the past two years (most notably Advent). Each project has revealed a different side of her musical voice, from chamber collaborations to jazz-influenced ensembles to old time fiddle. All of those experiences eventually led to her most ambitious endeavor yet: Hamilton Tango Weekend.

A full celebration of Argentine tango music at Arts at the Palace. The live recordings from that weekend, featuring Jessie alongside Teagan Faran, Hilary Glen, and Claire Wilcox, reflect both her artistry and the spirit of collaboration that continues to grow around her here in Hamilton.

Jessie’s story as a musician began in Oklahoma, when her mom signed her and her sister up for violin lessons on a whim. She was eight years old, and the instrument quickly became a source of stability and consistency. “It was something I could carry around with me wherever I went,” she says, “and no matter how often we moved, it was always a reliable form of connection and a way of relating to the world around me.”

Alongside her classical studies, Jessie also took weekly fiddle lessons, leading to years of contest fiddling and monthly jam sessions. “Fellow musicians, both in youth symphony and the fiddle contest circuit, were a huge part of my community as a kid and probably gave me the strongest sense of belonging out of anything I was involved in.”

After getting a degree in violin performance in Chicago, Jessie co-founded an indie chamber rock band (Renegade Lightning Rebellion) with her now husband, saxophonist Brian Stark. For six years, they played shows, toured, and recorded albums together. “Even though we’re not playing that kind of music anymore, looking back, it’s still some of the music I’m most proud of having made,” she says. “That band, as well as my experience with fiddling, has shaped my values as a musician - listening, being flexible, and approaching each genre as its own unique sound universe and set of stylistic principles.”

In 2021, Jessie joined a community tango orquesta, Bandoneon Massacre, in Urbana and began what would become a lasting and life-changing connection to Argentine tango music. And in a similar way that she found community through different musical groups in the past, the tango music community has become not only my collaborators and fellow performers, but some of her closest friends as well.

“When I started playing tango, I don’t think I was quite prepared for the extent to which it would impact me and how much I would fall in love with it,” she says. “I’ve immersed myself in many other styles in the past, but nothing has quite gotten under my skin the same way that tango has.”

When Jessie, Brian, and two young boys arrived in Hamilton, she wasn’t sure what kind of creative network she’d find. “The community may be much smaller than what I’m used to, but I’ve been overwhelmed by how willing people are to jump in and experience something new,” she says. “Because the things I was involved in before didn’t already exist here, I’ve had the challenge of having to create them myself. That has been a big stretch for me as both an organizer and an artist, but Arts at the Palace has been incredibly supportive. They really do create a space for artists to try out their ideas, encourage us along the way and provide the infrastructure for us to have successful projects. It’s really cool to know that I have a place here that believes in all my crazy ideas and is willing to help me make them happen. I really don’t know what I would do without the Palace.”

As soon as she arrived, Jessie knew she wanted to bring tango to Hamilton. “There are so many ways to start a project like this, but I decided to go with a less typical instrumentation: the string quartet, because these are the musicians I have here with me right now.”

What began as an idea for a single concert quickly expanded into a full weekend of music and dance. The event included a tango technique class for string players led by Faran, and a community dance workshop taught by James Parker. “It was really special to introduce my community in Hamilton to multiple aspects of this art form that means so much to me,” Jessie says. “Watching people jump in and have such a good time experiencing it was a lot of fun.”

The success of Hamilton Tango Weekend has sparked new ideas and a growing sense of momentum. “I definitely hope to do more tango music and dance here in Hamilton,” Jessie says. "Those were the very first steps of what I hope is a very long work in progress. Even though I’ve been studying tango music for four years, I feel like I’m just starting to get under the surface of what’s there. I love the feeling of knowing there is something there waiting for me to dig into and knowing that it goes so deep that I will probably never reach the bottom.”

As the Featured Artist Series releases live recordings from the weekend, Jessie’s work continues to highlight what’s possible when artists' visions are given a platform and place to grow. In Hamilton, tango has found a new home.

Jessie Stark & Hamilton Tango Weekend| Featured Artist Series

Austin Florenz