Find a Union Musician

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.

Kyla Tilley is a Canadian prog-folk singer-songwriter known for her emotionally turbulent live performances, her gymnastic guitar playing, and her fabulous shoe collection.
Using whatever words she likes, Kyla constructs tales true and tall of fantastic exploits, mundane tasks, and moderate misadventure which she delivers with a mix of vocal fusillades, chaotic finger-picking, and kaleidoscopic rhythms.
Twelve such songs can be found on Kyla's sophomore album Bloom & Grow. A mercurial collection of songs about personal growth, self-acceptance, and the obstacles that get in the way of an individual's desire to leave something of themselves for the ages.
Kyla lives in a small town in Newfoundland and Labrador where you will find her strolling on the beach, hiking in the woods, and broadcasting glimpses into her songwriting sessions live on Twitch, where her stalwart followers are encouraged to heckle, cheer, and distract, as Kyla wrestles words, cajoles melodies, and hammers out guitar parts.
Kyla's endeavours over the years have ranged from country to metal with many digressions in-between. She appeared in the documentary "Water Street" with country/folk band Bareback; performed at the Sound Symposium with experimental music group Sound Circus; had a song recorded by Canadian Idol finalist Jenny Gear; played art galleries and events as a solo classical guitarist and with the bass and guitar duo Cat's Paw; performed with violinist Ed Hudson in folk duo Tea & Bread, which melded Kyla's original material with Ed's love of British folk song. She's composed cat-walk music and provided guitar solos for comedian and fashion diva Cara Winsor-Hehir, and is one half of progressive death metal duo Molt. As Mistress Pandemonium, she was the riff-generating half of Newfoundland heavy metal band Endearing Perversion. She spent a decade singing a mixture of folk and classical music in Montreal's La Chorale Harmonia community choir including 2 stints on the board.
Kyla Tilley singer-songwriter began releasing music in 2018 with Whimseys, a 5 song EP of some of her more whimsical numbers performed simply with guitar and voice, and Loose Summer, a mostly instrumental composition for a fashion show featuring 5 short episodes of airy guitar, flute, bottles and found percussion. These were followed in the summer of 2019 with New Shoes, Kyla's first full length album, then Vagarys in 2020, another 5 song EP of odder fare, this time with bass and drums thrown into the mix.

“Stunning” is the word often used to describe Debra Cowan's vocals. She performs unaccompanied or with guitar, interpreting a wide range of traditional and contemporary songs. She is a full-time performer who bridges the old and new with a refreshing stage presence and has released six recordings, all having earned praise on both sides of the Atlantic. She tours in the United Kingdom and in North America and can often be seen on stage with her good friend, singer and musician John Roberts. Debra is a proud member of American Federation of Musicians Local 1000 and endorses Harvey Leach guitars. 

Elise Witt’s concerts of Global, Local & Homemade Songs™ and her Impromptu Glorious Chorus™ workshops create and connect singing communities around the globe. Her songs are available for choruses and choirs through the Elise Witt Choral Series and for solo and community singing in All Singing: The Elise Witt Songbook, as well as on 12 CDs.
She currently serves as Director of Music Programs at the Global Village Project, a special purpose middle school for teenage refugee girls in Decatur GA, where she uses singing to help students learn English, share their cultures, gain self confidence, and learn to navigate their new world.

Multi-instrumentalist Ben Deschamps plays regularly with Celtic artist Heather Dale, and also tours internationally as a side musician for other folk and blues acts. Ben's long recording career includes producing and/or engineering over 40 albums, and running live sound for performances. Ben Deschamps and Heather Dale have played 1500+ shows across 3 continents. Together they run the musician-friendly OnlineConcertThing.com music platform. Ben has been a proud Local 1000 member since 2011.

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.

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!

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. 

Alana is a Toronto-based fiddler specializing in combining Irish, Cape Breton and Scottish styles to create her own sound. She performs both solo and in a duo with her father, Leigh Cline.

Joel Simpson has been a self-employed musician since 2001. Growing up in a musical family, Joel started playing guitar as well as singing/songwriting at a young age. His passion for music led him to earn a music business degree from Elmhurst University, and found Randomosity Records in Downers Grove, Illinois. He splits his time between private instruction, music production, and music performance.  Joel is proficient on voice and many string instruments. His production work focuses on folk and jazz. Joel has recorded with Lee Murdock, Ashley & Simpson, The Chancey Brothers and many more.

Sharon Abreu (“Ah-BRAY’oo”)

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. 

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.

“One of the great personalities in contemporary folk music.” - New York Times

I am a singer-songwriter who has been actively touring Western Canada for 5 years. Prior to my most recent release, I attended several conference and showcase opportunities (Folk Alliance International 2016, 2017, 2019; AmericanaFest 2015, 2018; BreakOut West 2017, 2018) to promote and engage local and international industry for the release. After releasing my sophomore album, "Driving In The Dark", international interest and touring opportunities continue to present themselves. I play 1-2 local shows in my home city of Calgary per year, if any and focus the entirety of my live show strategy around touring new markets, specifically targeting the UK and USA Americana scenes as this is where my music has been charting based off of radio play demographics. With recent bookings at the Philadelphia Folk Fest, several tour dates with Sarah Shook and other US plays, we are hunting for a US agent to continue touring and making an impact across borders.

A prolific and highly acclaimed singer-songwriter, Orit spent eleven years living on the road full-time, touring internationally.  She has released eleven albums which have received rave reviews and international radio play.  A multi-genre passionate singer, whose dedication to the craft and ability to connect to diverse audiences have won many hearts over.   Orit's Jewish and Israeli background informs much of her work, in particular a passion for humanitarianism and peace advocacy.   You can also hear her harmonies on several recordings by other artists.

“A quartet the likes of which I haven’t seen since... Coope, Boyes and Simpson, the Watersons, or The Voice Squad. Just absolutely phenomenal!” -BBC Traveling Folk

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. 

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.