Deidre McCalla doesn’t merely take the stage – she owns it.
Deidre – a Black woman, mother, lesbian, feminist – has long been in the forefront of Black musicians rewiring perception of how Black folk do folk. Deidre McCalla’s 2022 release, ENDLESS GRACE, her fifth independent album, is the bold statement of an artist confidently claiming her place in the world and relentlessly affirming the power and diversity of the human spirit.
Western U.S.
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.
Tom Neilson
Donna Nestler
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
Susan Lewis
As a member of the women’s trio Belles of Hoboken in the early 80s (with Janet Stecher and Marcie Boyd), Susan performed throughout the New York City area and recorded numerous songs for the “Fast Folk” musician’s cooperative monthly musical “magazine.” When she moved to Seattle, Susan was a founding member of the quartet Shays’ Rebellion, along with fellow Local 1000 member John O’Connor (as well as Tim Hall and Janet Stecher). Their ‘songs of social movements past and present’ were shared with audiences across the United States and Canada. Their album “Daniel Shays’ Highway” was released on Flying Fish Records (FF427) in 1987.
Susan and Janet teamed up to form the duo Rebel Voices in 1989. They have released 3 albums together: “A Little Look Around”, “Warning: Women at Work”, and “A Piece of the Wall”. They have appeared in concert at coffeehouses, K-12 schoolrooms, colleges, festivals, living rooms, conventions, rallies, picket lines, and union halls across the U.S. and Canada, as well as in England and Portugal. The thousands of hours they’ve spent working together and the love of the material they sing are evident in their confident and inspiring performances. Their performances for organizations and events representing a broad spectrum of political and social causes have gained them enthusiastic fans wherever they go.
Most recently, Susan has begun to delve into musical theatre, as a cast member in the Vashon Repertory Theatre 2021 production of Woody Guthrie’s American Song.
Chris Jones
Singer/songwriter and leader of the original bluegrass and Americana band Chris Jones & The Night Drivers, based in both Canada and the U.S., recording for Mountain Home records. He and the band have scored 24 #1 songs on the bluegrass charts and have won 11 IBMA awards. Chris is a widely heard and award-winning SiriusXM program host.
Kim Harris
Dave Hawkins
Dave has been touring, recording and performing for 40+ years.
When not on the road Dave lives in Galloway Ohio spending time with his kids and grandkids.
He’s a former Executive Board Member of Local 1000 and Solidarity Committee Chair. Dave became a Local 1000 Pensioner in 2023!
Valdy, aka Paul-Valdemar Horsdal
Valdy is a troubadour, a travelling folksinger, still digging it immenely after more than fifty years on the road; he says he is still learning and curious. More data is available from his website: www.valdy.com
Valdy has played for 60,000 (Rick Hansen’s Homecoming) and for 60 (house concerts); the skill he has developed as a guitarist is becoming legendary, and his voice seems to be getting better with the years, something that working 200 gigs a year can do.
Valdy has a long history of festival performances, has taught songwriting at many camps, and encourages participation of audiences in a gentle yet effective manner.
He’s the real deal: an advocate, an artist and a motivator for positive change., and he’s an experienced entertainer. Please contact his agent, Charlie Jacklin at Lunar Productions (charlie@lunarproductions.ca), or contact Valdy through Local 1000 and local 247, as he maintains membership in both.
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.