I am a guitarist who works in Folk, Celtic & Greek/Turkish genres having been part of the 1960s -70s folk scene both as a player and as a presenter (Mariposa Folk Festival among others) as well as performing and recording in Greece & Turkey since the 1970s. I presently work with my fiddler daughter Alana Cline and we perform Cape Breton, Scottish and Irish traditional tunes from the 1700s onwards as well as modern traditional style material. We also specialize in performances and workshops comparing different Celtic fiddle musical traditions.
Overseas/International
Pat Wictor
Singer-songwriter, lap slide guitarist, improviser, music educator.
Zachary Lucky
Award nominated songwriter Zachary Lucky is unapologetically old-school country, armed with a husky, baritone voice – He carries himself like a younger Richard Buckner or a heartier Doug Paisley and often receives comparisons to songwriters such as Gordon Lightfoot and Kris Kristofferson. He sings of Canadian places and people as knowingly as he might Townes Van Zandt or the Rio Grande. His shows and songs are relatable on many levels, and conjure universal feelings that have passed through our collective timelines. Hailing from Saskatchewan Canada, but now based in Orillia, Ontario.
AILEEN VANCE
Singer. Songwriter. Music Educator. Choir director. I am especially passionate about music that gets ordinary people singing along.
John McCutcheon
For fifty years John McCutcheon has been a stalwart of the American folk music scene, a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, storyteller, author, activist, union man. He was introduced to folk music as an 11-year-old watching the March on Washington on television. The wedding of art and activism captured him then and he’s spent the many years since exploring that union.
Besides being considered one of the world masters of the hammer dulcimer, John also plays guitar, banjo, fiddle, autoharp, piano, Jew’s harp, mountain dulcimer, and a host of other instruments he’s wise enough not to play in public. His songwriting has been internationally praised, his classic “Christmas in the Trenches” was mentioned as one of the One Hundred Essential Folksongs by Folk Alley.
He has toured internationally for decades with a unique blend of storytelling and music. “Folk music’s rustic renaissance man” is how the Washington Post described him. “Calling John McCutcheon a folksinger is like saying Deion Sanders is just a football player,” heralded the Dallas Morning News. But perhaps the most insightful description comes from John’s mentor and friend, Pete Seeger, “John McCutcheon is not only one of the best musicians in the USA, but also a great singer, songwriter, and song leader. And not just incidentally, he is committed to helping hard-working people everywhere to organize and push this world in a better direction.”
A lifelong unionist, he is one of the co-founders of Local 1000 and served as president 1997-2012. He currently serves as the chair of the Fair Trade Music committee and also is on the executive board of the Atlanta Musicians Union (AFM 148-462).
He is the recipient of the Joe Hill Award from the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Utah Phillips Lifetime Service to Labor Award from Local 1000.
Arthur McGregor
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!
Tom Neilson
Chris Koldewey
Mainly focusing on Folk Music; he sings, plays guitar, concertina, banjo, fiddle, mandolin. Music of the sea, the land, work, and play, Chris loves to sing, and play with people from all around, in the first “do-it-yourself” music: folk!
Traditional – Singer of songs with a strong historic base. Composed long ago, by those whose names may be long since forgotten, but whose ideas are still relevant today.
Contemporary – Singer of songs that, although written today speak with a voice of timelessness.
Of The People – Singer of songs that “folks” can make their own, and carry on.
Nadine Landry
BIll Garrett
Bill Garrett is a musician, producer and occasional songwriter. Involved in folk music for decades, he has performed internationally, recorded several albums both solo, and with partner Sue Lothrop and has produced some 65 albums for other artists. Until its sale in 2021 He was a partner in Borealis Records. He has sat on the boards of Folk Alliance International, the Canadian Folk Music Awards and Folk Music Canada. He is a proud recipient of Folk Music Ontario’s Estelle Klein Award with whom he had the privilege of working on the Mariposa Folk Festival. Prior to Borealis he worked for several years as a music and program producer at CBC Radio. He currently stays busy in the studio producing other artists including James Keelaghan, Mamas Broke, Shelley Posen and The Durham County Poets. When not producing others he performs and records with his wife Sue Lothrop.
Heather Dale
Heather Dale’s original Celtic music explores world legends and history. She finds contemporary themes within old material, and fuses folk traditions with blues, jazz, and world music influences. Often compared to Loreena McKennitt and Sarah McLachlan, Dale’s rich vocals are paired with more than a dozen folk instruments in live performances with multi-instrumentalist Ben Deschamps. In her 25+ year career, she’s released 18 studio albums, 5 live albums, 3 songbooks and a full-length musical theatre work based on the King Arthur legend titled “Queens of Avalon.” She and Ben have played 1500+ shows across 3 continents, and together they run the musician-friendly OnlineConcertThing.com music platform. Heather & Ben have been proud Local 1000 members since 2011.