MandolinMarco’s One-Man Klezmer Fusion Show

About the show

I’m MandolinMarco – a mandolin player, looper enthusiast and long-time bluegrass musician who rediscovered my Klezmer and Eastern European roots through modern fusion and dance music.

After a decade as mandolin soloist and backup singer with Stained Glass Bluegrass, I began exploring contemporary Klezmer, Gypsy/Balkan and Latin influences, especially where traditional folk tunes collide with jazz harmony, funk grooves and drum’n’bass energy.

MandolinMarco’s One-Man Klezmer Fusion Show is a full dance band built live by one person using electric and acoustic mandolin, keyboard/synth, drum pads, kick drum, loopers, and a compact Digital Audio Workbench setup. The result is a Klezmer/Balkan/Latin mash-up designed for circle dances, audience participation and high-energy festival stages.

I am currently booking UK festivals, arts centres and family-friendly events for 2026.

Genres:
Klezmer • Balkan/Gypsy • Latin fusion • Dance • Funk • R&B

Featured Performances — Audio & Video

TRACK 1 of 3 – Klezmer–Latin Dance Fusion

A high-energy Klezmer-meets-Latin circle-dance groove built from layered loops of electric mandolin, bass, keys and percussion. This is one of my most reliable audience-participation pieces — perfect for getting people into a circle, holding hands, and dancing together.

This track began as an Ableton Live tutorial series but has evolved into a fully live-looped festival number. In performance, I build the drum groove, bass line and keyboard pattern layer by layer, then launch into electric mandolin to drive the dance.

TRACK 2 of 3 – 1927 Klezmer Melody (Mandolin & Keyboard)

A classic 1927 Klezmer melody arranged for mandolin and keyboard. The video features a split-screen performance showing both parts; live on stage, I recreate the keyboard backing with a looper, then build mandolin, tuba/bass and percussion on top for a full traditional-meets-modern sound.

This piece shows the melodic heart of my Klezmer roots. It works beautifully as a gentler circle dance or a breather between heavier fusion tracks, and still gives the audience something uplifting and distinctive.

TRACK 3 of 3 – One-Man “Billie Jean” (Looper Funk)

A looping-based re-imagining of “Billie Jean” performed with electric mandolin, keyboard, drum pads, kick and vocals — all layered in real time. It’s a fun crossover piece, often with a quick costume change, and a great way to add a splash of soul/funk energy to a festival set.

Everything you hear in this track is played live and looped on the spot: drum pads, kick drum, keyboard groove, vocals, and electric mandolin solo (with one obvious edit/fade about 2/3 of the way through, to truncate the lengthy verses before the eMando solo). It’s a strong example of my hybrid acoustic–electronic setup and a crowd-pleasing twist on a classic.

See more on MandolinMarco's YouTube Channel

Tutorials and Tech

I also create behind-the-scenes tutorials showing how I build a full-band sound using mandolin, keyboard, drum pads, loopers and Ableton Live. These videos explore practical techniques for live looping, hybrid acoustic–electronic setups, and performance workflow. Currently in preparation are some videos about editing 'Performances' (arrangements/instruments/voices) on the Yamaha MX49 and related synthesizers; and others about creating multiple simultaneous instruments/voices using a MIDI Event Processor.

Watch Tutorials:

1. Playlist of 4 Ableton Live + Novation Launchkey Mini tutorials: [click here]

2. Yamaha MX49 Performance Editor: [in progress...]

3. Using MIDI Solutions Event Processor Plus to create 2-16 parallel instruments/voices: [in progress...]

Tech

The items below will be the subject of a future 'walk-through' video.

Instruments & Controllers

• Synthesizer: Yamaha MX49

• MIDI Keyboard/Controllers: Nektar SE49; Novation Launchkey Mini MK3

• Midi Sound Module: MidiPlus Mini Engine Pro

• Drum Pad: Millenium NonaPad 9-pad sampler + Kick Pad foot pedal/trigger

• Electric Mandolins: Eastwood Warren Elllis Mandostang 4-string; Tinguitar compact 8-string

• Acoustic Mandolins: Summit F100S F4 (Paul Schneider); Ozark 2255E (electro-acoustic)

Looper Pedals:

• Boomerang III Phrase Sampler + Side Car

• Boss RC-10R

Amp, Preamp, Mixers

• Roland CUBE EX (for small gigs and home studio; serves as monitor feeding main PA for larger gigs)

• ART Tube MP mic preamp

• LiNKFOR 4-Channel Mini Stereo Mixer

• Mackie 402 VLZ4 4 channel mic/line mixer

Effects Pedals

• Behringer EQ700 Graphic Equalizer

• Behringer TO800 Vintage Tube Overdrive

• EHX Pitch Fork + (octave/harmony)

• EHX Attack/Decay

Bluegrass (& Classical) Origins

I was fortunate to be asked to play mandolin with the band Stained Glass Bluegrass about ten years ago - I had to work hard to keep up with the rest of them! The two videos below illustrate (a) traditional bluegrass (first video: "Loneseome Feeling" from the Osborne Brothers) and (b) what you might call "classical fusion" (second video: "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" , a great arrangement by Pete (on banjo) of an instrumental sinfonia from Handel's 1749 oratorio Solomon) - the link takes you to halfway through, but it's easy to move the progress bar back to the start. You can see and listen to more of Stained Blass Bluegrass at StainedGlassBluegrass.co.uk or on our Spotify collection.

Contact & Bookings

I am currently taking bookings for festivals, arts centres, community events and family-friendly gatherings in the UK.

For performance bookings, workshop enquiries, or combined performance + tech-demo sessions:

Email: info@mandolinmarco.com
(or use the form below)