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Ruckus is a shapeshifting, collaborative baroque ensemble with a visceral and playful approach to early music. Described as “the world’s only period-instrument rock band” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Ruckus’ core is a continuo group, the baroque equivalent of a jazz rhythm section: guitars, keyboards, cello, bassoon and bass. The NYC-based ensemble aims to fuse the early-music movement’s questing, creative spirit with the grit, groove and jangle of American roots music, creating a unique sound of “rough-edged intensity” (New Yorker) that’s “achingly delicate one moment, incisive and punchy the next” (New York Times). The group’s members are among the most creative and virtuosic performers in North American early music.
Ruckus is the house band for Hudson Hall’s baroque opera productions, directed by R.B. Schlather. The New York Times’ Zachary Woolfe wrote: “Ruckus aptly describes itself as a band: it’s that tight, and that wild.” Ruckus’ next productions at Hudson Hall will be Handel’s final opera, Deidamia (April 2027) and a staged Messiah (December 2027).
Ruckus’ 2026-27 highlights include: a residency at Yale University’s Schwarzman Center and a return to The Frick Collection in a program of American Hymns; debut at Boston Early Music Festival in February 2027 with the music of Heinrich Biber; and the cantatas of Elisabeth-Jacquet de la Guerre at the Met Cloisters in May 2027.
Ruckus’ debut album, Fly the Coop, a collaboration with flutist Emi Ferguson, was Billboard’s #2 Classical album upon its release. Performances of Fly the Coop have been described as “a fizzing, daring display of personality and imagination” (New York Times). The Boston Musical Intelligencer describes the group as taking continuo playing to “not simply a new level, but a revelatory new dimension of dynamism altogether… an eruption of pure, pulsing hoedown joy.” In the spring of 2025, the band released The Edinburgh Rollick (featuring violinist Keir GoGwilt) bringing new life to the tunes of Neil Gow, one of Scotland’s most important 18th-century composers. Praised as “a perfect meeting of folk repertoire and ancient instruments “ (Le Canard Folk), music from the album will be featured in The Jack of Spades, an upcoming feature film directed by Joel Coen.
In 2026, to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Ruckus joined Davóne Tines in a national tour entitled “What is Your Hand in This?” The program, commissioned by Carnegie Hall, asks: How can we passionately address wrongs while coexisting as a people? Can we find compassion for others? Can we find compassion for ourselves? The repertoire spans 400 years of early American music, including new works written by Ruckus’ own Douglas Balliett. Washington Classical Review, reviewing the program’s world premiere, stated “There will be many commemorations of America in this anniversary year, but few will match the creativity, commitment, and insight Tines and Ruckus brought to “What is Your Hand in This?"