Local 1000 AFM

The Traveling Musicians Union

Ukulele

Tom Kastle

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Tom Kastle has been a singer and folk musician for decades, traveling the world, collecting and performing maritime songs and stories, and captaining sailing ships on the Great Lakes. These days, Tom lives in Madison and his passions are even more diverse and include a recording of original songs based mostly on traditional fiddle tunes, film projects like Francisco Torres’ Delight In the Mountain, with Richard Riehle and Tom Wopat, an opera role, and television where he hosted a short documentary that was nominated for an Emmy Award. Add in musical director and composer credits, and recent theatrical roles ranging from musicals to Shakespeare, playing a political pundit with the legendary Ed Asner in God Help Us! and a one man play based on the life of Joe Hill and you have an artist living a vivid life, indeed!

“With his solo recording and original songs, Tom Kastle shows further dimensions to his talent and range of material. His resonant voice, heartfelt lyrics, and solid instrumentation proves he is a more “grounded” talent, as capable as writing about the open road as he is about the open waters.” — Lilli Kuzma: Folk Festival WDCB-FM Radio

 

“What do you say about a guy who can command a tall ship and all her crew, whose songs can make an Irishman cry tears of pure Tullamore Dew?”  — Bryan Bowers

 

“I heard Tom Kastle sing his song, ‘Whose House? Our House!’…. Timely. Inspiring. A great gathering song sung with power and presence.”  — Holly Near

Lui Collins

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“…one of New England’s clearest and most distinctive folk voices, with unusually piercing lyrical insight…” – Hartford Courant

“Folksinger for our times.” – The Boston Herald

“…one of New England’s first and brightest stars.” – The Boston Globe

Folk singer/songwriter Lui Collins has been performing, writing and recording for over 45 years, her early Philo and Green Linnet recordings earning international acclaim and establishing her as a respected voice in the folk world. Lui has shared the stage with such notables as Pete Seeger, Bonnie Raitt, Stan Rogers, Dar Williams, and John Gorka. Renowned guitarist Dave van Ronk called her “one of the best guitarist-arrangers I have heard in years.”

“Lui sings my songs better than I do.” – Canadian folk icon Stan Rogers

From playful 4-string arrangements of some favorite original songs, to the fabulous jazz chords in American standards and Bossa nova, Lui translates her rich and complex guitar arrangements onto her tenor ukulele to create something unexpected and delightful.

Lui is often joined by guitarist/Grammy-nominated producer and longtime collaborator, Anand Nayak, accompanying her in a wide range of styles and languages. Their decade plus of creative collaboration is evident in the fluid musical dialogue of their live performance.

Additional quotes:

“Lui Collins sings the way people did a great long time ago, before most of us forgot how to breathe.” – Andrew Calhoun, Waterbug Records

“Lui’s got the juju!” – Geoff Bartley, singer-songwriter, guitarist

“Lui has a gentle way of capturing the hearts of her audience and having what amounts to a musical conversation with them during her performances… No one weaves a spell quite like she can.”

– Champlain Valley Folk Festival Newsletter

Sharon Abreu

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Sharon Abreu (“Ah-BRAY’oo”)

Sharon Abreu is a singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, teacher, and student of life. She was singing harmony with her family around the dinner table by the age of 3. Sharon grew up with many musical influences, from classical and opera to Broadway to folk, pop and rock, and she enjoys mixing those up in her concerts. She performs as a solo artist and also as half of the acoustic Irthlingz Duo with her partner Michael Hurwicz. She has performed at venues as diverse as the Northwest Folklife Festival, the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, and the United Nations.

Sharon was studying classical singing in New York City when she attended a pumpkin festival in the West Village and ended up joining the sponsoring organization, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater. Through her work with Clearwater, she started using her voice and songs for environmental education and ended up singing in concert with legendary folksinger Pete Seeger.

Sharon has sung lead roles in operas including The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute.  She’s been a soloist in performances of major choral works including Bach’s Magnificat and B Minor Mass and Mozart’s Requiem and Vespers. Sharon starred in a sold-out run of the musical The Taffetas at the Orcas Center and in summer stock at the Ferry Terminal in Bellingham, Washington. Sharon has provided music for major international Earth summits at the United Nations in New York and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa. And she was honored to sing for Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai in Berkeley, California in 2006.

In 2007, she prepared New York City high school students to perform her climate change musical revue Penguins on Thin Ice for the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development, receiving a standing ovation from a full auditorium of international delegates.

In 2016, Sharon performed her one-woman musical show The Climate Monologues in the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival, the United Solo Theatre Festival in New York, and for The MarshStream Theatre Festival online in 2021. She received the “Spirit of Nature, Ecology & Society” Environmental Justice Award for her performance of The Climate Monologues, at the Culture of Climate Change Colloquium at the City University of New York in 2011. Sharon composed and recorded the songs for Zero Waste Washington’s public school education program.

Sharon teaches voice, violin and piano, and she has been the vocal coach for musicals including Billy Elliot and Mamma Mia. For 2-1/2 years, she was a Musician-in-Residence with the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, bringing music and singing to local preschools. She is featured in Professor Mark Pedelty’s books, Ecomusicology (2012) and A Song to Save the Salish Sea: Environmentalist Musicians in the Pacific Northwest (2016).

Sharon has been a member of the Local 1000 North American Traveling Musicians Union, American Federation of Musicians, AFL-CIO since 1997.

Ash Devine

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The award-winning and versatile Appalachian-indie-folk-country-fusion singer-songwriter, performance artist, and multi-generational arts program designer Ash Devine is based the Blue Ridge Mountains of Blacksburg, VA and Asheville, North Carolina. Devine, who is considered by some as one of the last ‘folk troubadours’ is also known for her unique finger-style ukulele and guitar sound, and for her participation in humanitarian efforts through music, education, and the arts.

In addition to producing several albums of original music, Ash has performed and studied along side Nobel peace prize nominee Patch Adams M.D., Heritage award winning ballad singer Sheila Kay Adams, Grammy award nominee and folklorist David Holt, and a number of other renowned folklorists and internationally acclaimed musicians. Her versatile Appalachian folk revival-fusion sound is bursting with stylistic variety, relatable story, and historical facts. Her music is influenced in style by Traditional Appalachian, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jean Richie, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Maybelle Carter, Leslie Riddle, Ani Difranco, Kate Wolfe, Bob Dylan, and reggae/world music influences such as the Wailers, Jimmy Cliff, and west African traditional music.

In 2015 Ash Devine starred as the legendary Maybelle Carter and musically directed the play Esley: The Life and Music of Leslie Riddle. From 2016-2019 Ash Devine studied Appalachian traditional folk songs from the Western, NC area with Smithsonian Folkways Award winning ballad singer Sheila Kay Adams. In 2018, Devine was invited to perform with a group of WNC Appalachian song carriers at the Library of Congress at the American Folk Life Center in Washington, DC. Ash is award winning, in 2013 her original music was selected for 1st place at the Twin Rivers Media Festival in Asheville, NC, in 2008 she won 1st place for Brown Bag Songwriter’s Competition in Asheville, NC, and in 2001 Devine was awarded best composition for an original song at Roanoke, VA’s downtown Music Lab.

Devine performs all original concerts, blended traditional/contemporary/original variety style concerts, a one woman show about the legendary Carter Family and the influences and origins of the music they played, and Devine performs personalized therapeutic and formal concerts for the care setting.

Richard May

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Drums, Bass, Guitar, Vocal, basic Piano-Keys (if zero on-the-fly sight reading is needed). Great for last minute work, best if reference recording available. Can be music director to assemble backing group for performance, film, tv, or recording. Can consult for tv, film, to ensure actors can credibly portray musicians. Willing to travel if travel cost covered from Seattle, WA.

Bonnie Lockhart

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Singer, songwriter performing primarily for children and families. Perform and teach as artist in residence at schools, libraries, community centers and at private parties. Song leading at rallies and other political events, often with Occupella, a crew of singer/songleaders/songwiriters.  Occasionally perform for adults, leftist events, usually unpaid. Play with women’s samba group, Sistah Boom.  I’m 73 years old and semi-retired from paid work at this point.

Liv Cazzola [Tragedy Ann | The Lifers]

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Liv Cazzola is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, educator, and avid collaborator. Though based in Guelph Ontario, Liv is typically seen performing in Tragedy Ann or The Lifers, in North America and Europe. She sings to seek understanding, question the current, relish in the goodness, and create necessary change. 

Recently, Liv won the Folk Music Ontario Songs From the Heart Award for her Children’s Song Thomas’ Lullaby, was a CFMA award nominee for Emerging Artist of the Year (The Lifers), and has received an OAC Creation grant, OAC touring grant, and FACTOR Recording Grants for upcoming solo & band projects. 
 

Jennifer Camp

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<p><p><br /> My first band was (Whirligig) with Linda Gonzalez and Ben Robinson from Athens, Georgia in the nineties. We performed primarily folk music.

In 1994-1999 I performed with The Dilettantes ( with bassist Eric Agner and lead guitarist Greg Schlimm) (folk, jazz, old country, rock, Texas swing) in Baltimore, Maryland. I was also a member of Dame’s Rocket ( Rod Smith, Eric Agner, Jim Brink),  a Baltimore based rock and roll band (retro rock, retro country, Texas swing, surf) from 1996-2006. In 1999 I joined the folk trio, Hot Soup (with Sue Trainor, Christina Muir) and performed with them until 2003.

I later performed with Jim Seechuk, primarily the coffee circuit in the Baltimore – Annapolis area (2004-2006)

I also performed in a duo with Dave Giegerich of The Hula Monsters (2006-2009) in Baltimore, MD in cafes, pubs and restaurants. 

I joined the Baltimore City Pipe Band in 2007-2021, playing the highland bagpipes in parades, parties, weddings, funerals and other events. 

 

Faith Nolan

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Faith Nolan singer/songwriter, plays guitar, harp, banjo, ukelele- songs focus on social justice , kids music, LGBTQI- Enviornment-anti racism, anti-capitalism-ani-sexism, anti-homophobia- pro peace , love and joy Heritage – Black-Mi’kmaq-Irish , born in Nova Scotia -have recorded 16 CD’s, original many world languages used in lyrics and lots of blues folk jazz, reggae

FAITH NOLAN

Arthur McGregor

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Arthur performs with The Celtic Rathskallions, a children’s musical theatre, Moore & McGregor, ( recording ‘Dream With Me’ ) a duo with my wife, Wendy, and McGregor and Lindsay with Graham Lindsay along with solo shows with a mix of my songs and others. I ran the Ottawa Folklore Centre for 34 years, and I’m currently the Canadian Vice-president of Local 1000. I’ve played and worked in folk music all my life…so far!