Stian Carstensen (born 5 January 1971) is a Norwegian multi-instrumentalist musician, entertainer and with Jarle Vespestad (drums) and Nils-Olav Johansen (vocal and guitar), central member of the Balkan-jazz orchestra Farmers Market.

He went freelance for a year or so and then he began to study in the Jazz Program at the Trondheim Musikkonservatorium, with the guitar as a main instrument.

The group was originally a free jazz quintet, until they one day found sheet music with a Bulgarian folk tune in 11/16.

This was an extreme album with elements of many different styles and ideas from bluegrass in odd meters to Metallica-like versions of traditional Balkan tunes and slick commercial music mixed with Stockhausen.

He wrote some music and put together a band consisting of his colleague Jarle Vespestad, a leading Norwegian drummer who also play in Farmers Market, with Django Bates from England, with Tord Gustavsen Trio from Norway, and Ernst Reijseger from the Netherlands.

He has studied Bulgarian polyphony in Bulgaria, and rural American Afro-Celtic music in the Appalachians, on a fee from the Norwegian cultural department.

He played the accordionist in the circus band (and the soundtrack) of the 2005 Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean film MirrorMask.