Jim Eldon is a practitioner of the "fiddle on the bicep" position. Given that what he's doing is basically storytelling with fiddle accompaniment, it helps by taking the instrument away from his face.

I'm with Dick on the percussion in that clip. I don't see what it's for. What they're playing is dance music, and in my experience if there's a percussionist, that's who the dancers will be listening to. They need sharp attacks directly on the beat, not fluffy brushstrokes lagging way behind it. Any dance requiring precise footwork that was done to the music in that video would be a shambles.