Ethan Setiawan & Fine Ground is visually a bluegrass band. Born of a yearning to return to bluegrass roots, Fine Ground takes time-honored traditions and imbues them with original tunes and exceptional songwriting. The band includes Setiawan on mandolin, BB Bowness on banjo, Julian Pinelli on fiddle, Alex Rubin on guitar, and Brittany Karlson on bass. Setiawan has won both the National Mandolin Championship and the Rockygrass Mandolin Championship. On his 2023 album "Gambit", which was produced by legendary fiddle player Darol Anger, he moves aptly between stylistic influences, harkening back to the experimental string band music pioneered in the early 80s while presenting entirely original compositions. 

Originally from Goshen, Indiana, Ethan Setiawan tried out numerous instruments before finding his way to the mandolin.  “I played the cello, and tried out banjo and ukulele as a kid”, he explains, “But I really liked the mandolin, it was small but packed a bigger punch than the ukulele. Anyway, that was the one that stuck”, he laughs.  Years later, Setiawan has a command of the instrument far beyond his twenty-some-odd years, and has won both the National Mandolin Championship at Winfield, KS and the Rockygrass Mandolin Championship. Setiawan is one of three children who were homeschooled by folk-loving parents. His childhood was untraditional, and full of exploration.  “As a teenager, I loved the idea of going to jams and having this community of people I could hang out with”, he explains. He began driving to Chicago to take lessons with Don Stiernberg, and travelled to California to attend The Mandolin Symposium.  After finishing high school, Setiawan attended Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship. “I think I came into Berklee as a very technically oriented musician, but just being exposed to so many different styles and incredible musicians really broadened my musical horizons, and gave me a deeper understanding of artistry and musicality beyond technical proficiency”, he explains. Since then, his path has wended its way through traditional bluegrass, to Bach partitas, to free jazz.

In addition to his solo projects, Setiawan is an in-demand side man and band member, and can be seen playing with Hildaland, and Acoustic Nomads, among others. Over the years, he has shared the stage with Darol Anger, Tony Trischka, Mr. Sun, Julian Lage, Mike Marshall, Corner House, and Darrell Scott.