Cold Chocolate is a genre-bending Americana band that fuses folk, funk, and bluegrass to create a sound all their own. Led by Ethan Robbins (vocals/guitar/mandolin) and Ariel Bernstein (vocals/percussion/banjo), the Boston-based duo released their fifth full-length album in fall 2023.

Punctuated by tight harmonies and skillful musicianship, Cold Chocolate has quickly gained recognition for their original music and high-energy performances. They’ve shared stages with artists like Leftover Salmon, David Grisman, and Angelique Kidjo, and are frequent performers at venues and music festivals across the country.

Praise for Cold Chocolate:

“There were plenty of magical moments… I will never forget [watching] Cold Chocolate perform.”
— Jason Verlinde, The Fretboard Journal

“[Ethan] feels the music in his heart and soul and it shows when he plays. There’s an almost mystical connection between his guitar and the notes that flow out of it.”
— Kathy Sands-Boehmer, No Depression

“Cold Chocolate sounds softer than the dew on the mountainside, harder than a Harley pushing back red dust, sweeter than true love.”
— Simon Waxman, The Boston Review

“The band’s approach is decidedly modern, with as much an influence from folk and swing as from hard-driving bluegrass.”
— John Lawless, Bluegrass Today

Robbins began his bluegrass journey at Oberlin College and draws on a diverse musical background that includes classical violin and rootsy guitar influences from the likes of Bob Dylan, The Band, and John Hartford. Bernstein, also classically trained, brings a light and tasteful groove to the group’s sound and moonlights as a sideman for Ray LaMontagne. He also engineers and produces at his own Honey Pot Studios.

Cold Chocolate is currently on tour supporting their newest album, Now That’s What I Call Cold Chocolate, Vol. 1.