“a superior instrumentalist in any idiom......impressively virtuosic”
The New York Times

“lyrical style that is always emotionally electric”,  
The Washington Post ….

“Burke’s fiddling is one of the high spots of the current Irish musical scene”.  The Irish Times ….

“Sublime fiddle playing from Burke …. each moment, just right
”Folk Roots ….  

Irish Fiddler Kevin Burke has been at the forefront of traditional music since the  1970’s. Born in London, his Irish parents instilled in him a love for the music of their homeland. Heavily influenced by older generations of musicians, both in Ireland and his native London, the teen age Kevin became a well known figure at folk clubs, ceilis and pub sessions.

Never one to be restricted by geography or genre, his decades long career has seen several innovative collaborations. Some of the eminent players he has worked with are: Grammy winner, singer and instrumentalist Tim O’Brien; Liam O Maonlai, lead singer of the Hothouse Flowers; classical violinists Gilles Apap and Greg Ewer; Old Time favourites, The Foghorn String Band;  veteran Rock guitarist John Brennan (who played with Poco, Chris Hillman Band and others); and many renowned Irish bands such as Dervish, Solas and Lunasa.

Roscommon born Cathy Jordan has been a professional singer with traditional group Dervish for nearly 30 years. She is a self-taught guitar, bouzouki, bodhrán and bones player.

She has led Dervish as front woman through thousands of concerts in hundreds of cities in nearly 40 countries and has 18 albums under her belt. Among the most notable performances were The Great Wall of China and the biggest rock music festival in the world - Rock in Rio to over 250,000 people.

As a songwriter, she has written songs with internationally renowned Brendan Graham, best known for the most successful song of the twentieth century, You Raise Me Up.

In 2014, she took up the role of presenter of Fleadh TV with TG4. Cathy has been an ambassador for Irish culture and music for over a quarter of a century, and has a deep understanding of traditional Irish songs and singing and has collected hundreds of songs which otherwise may have been forgotten. Cathy and Dervish have been invited to accompany Presidents and Taoisigh of Ireland as cultural ambassadors to China, Latvia and Lithuania.

Dervish’s most recent album The Great Irish Songbook was released in 2019 on Rounder Records and features duets with Vince Gill, Steve Earle, Imelda May, David Gray and more. Over the years Cathy has picked up many awards for her contribution to traditional Irish music including BBC Lifetime Achievement Award 2019, Sligo Cultural Ambassador 2018, Annie McNulty Award 2014 and The Freedom of The City of Sligo in 2010.

In 2023, as of July, she has released two new albums: Female Rambling Sailor with Plúirín na Mban with fellow musicians Claudia Schwab and Irene Buckley; and Freight Train with jazz musicians Paul Clarvis and Liam Noble. There’s more to come: her album of songs by Brendan Graham with piano player Fergal Murray is out soon; as are more videos from The Crankie Island Song Project.

The Foghorn Stringband is the present day gold standard for real-deal hard-hitting genuine old-time American string band music, with nine albums, thousands of shows, over 20 years of touring under their belts, and an entirely new generation of roots musicians following their lead. American roots music is a diverse and never-ending well of inspiration, and Foghorn Stringband continually and obsessively draws from old-time, bluegrass, classic country, and Cajun music traditions in an ongoing quest to present a broad span of American historical music with an unparalleled youthful energy, joy, and virtuosity.

Each member of Foghorn Stringband exemplifies the best of the roots music traditions from their respective native cultures. Caleb Klauder’s wistful, keening vocals and rapidfire mandolin picking are as influenced by Southern roots music as much as they are by his upbringing in the sea islands of coastal Washington State. Reeb Willms hails from the wind swept Eastern farmlands of Washington. Her musical family and rural upbringing are on display with every note she sings and every heart she breaks. Nadine Landry’s roots lie in the rural backroads of Acadian Québec, and her high lonesome vocals have delighted audiences the world over. Her earth-shaking bass playing is the rumbling backbone of the Foghorn sound. Minnesotan Sammy Lind, simply put, is the old-time fiddler of his generation whose tone and voice are as old as the same hills that gave birth to this music. Together, these four have forged a sound like no other.

The band’s repertoire has expanded greatly in the past 15 years. They are as comfortable playing music at a neighborhood square dance as they are stirring a festival audience to a frenzy. Old time dance tunes rub shoulders with Cajun waltzes, vintage honky tonk country, and classic bluegrass….and it’s all rendered into a cohesive whole. Foghorn Stringband can often be found after a performance in a local pub or club continuing to play with equal energy and joy late into the night.

Eamon O’Leary and Jefferson Hamer (aka The Murphy Beds) present traditional and original folk songs with close harmonies and deft instrumental arrangements on bouzouki, guitar, and mandolin. In 2021 they released their second album, titled “Easy Way Down”, which The Irish Echo called “an incredible collection of songs delivered with grace and ease.” They have toured extensively throughout Europe and North America, with performances at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., Alaska Folk Festival, Milwaukee Irish Festival, WGBH Boston’s Celtic Sojourn, Doolin Folk Festival (Ireland), and Unamplifire Festival (London).

Eamon and Jefferson began playing together at traditional music sessions in New York City. They shared an interest in collecting, arranging, and performing songs from Irish, American, Scottish, and English traditions. As they began to collaborate — first in larger ensembles, but most enduringly as a duo — they also recognized an affinity for other more contemporary idioms. Whatever the source — songs of the Irish travelers, Arkansas spirituals, or their own compositions — their arrangements feature the same carefully wrought interplay of voices and strings.

In reference to a pair of their original songs, The New Yorker wrote, “with crispy guitar licks and geographic lyrics about a wandering worker… it reminds me of Woody Guthrie’s Columbia River song series,” … “I want to describe it as an Ian Tyson-esque ballad about a man stranded on an island and then lost at sea, but it feels more like a chain of imagistic verses that take you through a dreamscape.”

Jamie Fox is a Métis fiddler of the Aaniih and Nakoda tribes of Montana. The Métis are members of ethnic groups native to Canada and parts of the United States that trace their descent to both Indigenous North Americans and European settlers.

Jamie grew up on the Fort Belknap Reservation of Northern Montana where she was immersed in a lively fiddle and dance tradition. 

She is one of the most coveted and well-known players of Metis fiddle music — a tradition crossing ties of Celtic, French, and Native American music cultures.
When Jamie was five she used to go around and make like she was a fiddle player. A fiddle came to her that Christmas. The Michif tradition of fiddle playing on the Fort Belknap Reservation was on its last legs just as Jamie fell in love with the tunes. Old Fatty Morin was still around, and the Doney Brothers were still playing, but that was about it. Jamie, through their love of the Michif tunes, brought a new healing to an old discord between cultural sectors of the tribal society. As word got out, others on the reservation and along the Montana Hi-Line were incredibly enthused to see youngsters taking on a music that was in jeopardy of vanishing.
Jamie has been mentored by Métis elder Al Wiseman of Choteau, an archivist of Michif fiddle tunes. Jamie was brought into the fold of contemporary fiddle performance through family friendships with nationally renowned pianist Philip Aaberg and fiddler Darol Anger, both of whom have nurtured her talent. Although having expanded musical interests, and learning numerous tunes and styles from many traditions, her experience with elder Métis fiddlers is exceptional and singular. Those old-style, customary example, traditional-lineage players firmly root Jamie in the Métis tradition deep into the 19th century. Coming from within the tradition themselves, she represents the continuance of this generation maintaining a style and repertoire that dates back to the fur trade era of the 17th century and the first generation of European and Aboriginal mixing in the upper reaches of the North American continent. 

The Litch Brothers are a progressive bluegrass group that draws on traditional influences, with each band member bringing their own unique musical voice. Consisting of brothers Tashi and Kaj Litch, with Evan Snoey and Ben Lewis, on a combination of mandolin, guitar, fiddle, bass and vocals, the band delivers an eclectic mix of original music, traditional tunes and songs, and folk inspired covers.

“Tashi and Kaj Litch are the bluegrass music of the next generation. They play with style and accomplish what some wouldn’t even try.” — The Bluegrass Standard

“Last night was a blast! The spirit of Jimi Hendrix, Mike McCready from Perl Jam, Tashi and Kaj [Litch] and the incomparable Seattle Symphony… I thought the roof was going to blow off Benaroya Hall” — Brandi Carlile

“…blew listeners away with fiddle music so lithe and supple it made you wonder if Kaj might be the next Mark O’Conner.” — Paul Barros, Seattle Times

“Dynamic and engaging.” — The Lawrentian

Often times, Cajun music fans find themselves skipping ahead to the twin fiddles track on their favorite album. This is not because its the only track they love, but because there is something special about the harmonic fiddles that resonates, literally, somewhere deep within. It presents a sound that is unique to Cajun music, and in Louisiana we can feel it in our blood, and it creates a sound track for our identity.

Linzay Young and Joel Savoy are no strangers to this feeling. They have been playing the fiddle together for years, whether in bands, at impromptu concerts, or at home around the kitchen table. In fact they like to call it “Kitchen Music,” because its just the music they like to play when they get together at the table, plain and simple.

The Horsenecks are Gabrielle Macrae and Barry Southern. Based in Astoria, Oregon, they are two multi-instrumentalists who have come together from traditional music backgrounds and found a sound that weaves through layers of influence that include early Appalachian fiddle and banjo music, country, classic bluegrass and original folk.

Gabrielle's fiddle style is the result of being raised in the Old Time music hotbed of Portland, OR and being exposed to the fiddle traditions of the Southeast US through years of traveling to festivals and learning from some of the greatest players in the genre. Now deep in the world of songwriting, she brings together her background in traditional music and modern influences across many genres to create a catalog of songs that speak to their place in the evolving story of traditional music. Barry’s banjo and guitar playing range from thrilling and high-octane to moody and captivating, and his versatility shines whether flatpicking, playing clawhammer, or driving three-finger banjo. Barry has been consistently active in his home town of Liverpool’s music scene for over 20 years, playing lead guitar with cult heroes Tramp Attack and in the UK Old Time and Bluegrass scene, playing with multiple groups. Together, they create a distinctive sound, neither traditional or contemporary, their powerful harmony singing front and center. The Horsenecks continue to set a new standard in today's traditional music scene with years of touring under their belts, appearances at major festivals in the USA and the UK and four critically acclaimed studio albums.

Caroline Oakley is a musician, dance caller, and community organizer who has been teaching and calling old-time community square dances for over two decades.  She calls regularly at many of the West-Coast's premier old-time and bluegrass music festivals.   She also enjoys fiddling, playing guitar, and singing old country songs. Caroline lives in the town of Corbett, Oregon where she is a 4th/5th grade teacher, a music teacher and instigator, is actively reviving live music and dancing at the local grange hall and raises three sons.

Meet the Lottie Doddies - A project based out of Seattle featuring Ethan Lawton (Western Centuries, Zoe Muth), Hailey Pexton (Amy Scher & Hailey Pexton, The Hossettes),  Forrest Marowitz (Eli West, AJ Lee & Blue Summit), Jesse Fischman (AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Pacific Drive) and Patrick M'Gonigle (Bella White, Lonely Heartstring Band). What started as a group of pals getting together to revel in music and food has turned into a fully formed music project that emphasizes writing and performing original music, and includes more obscure songs from the folk, country, bluegrass repertoire. 

"Eli West is an American Roots musician from the Pacific Northwest. A multi-instrumental creator of sonic spaces, Eli’s former training as a designer informs a sound that is lush and organic – neither manicured nor overgrown. Evergreen timbres weave among pitches, rhythms and lyrics to become comfortable rooms into which listeners are invited.

Lauded by Tim O’brien as a musician “making music the World needs,” Eli’s reputation as a crafter of considered, toneful environments has fostered collaborations with Bill Frisell, Andrew Marlin, John Reishchman, Julie Fowlis, and many other pillars of the growing Americana movement.”

Raised on the central coast of California and currently living in Bellingham. Wa, Elise Leavy has a distinctly unique voice as a singer and songwriter. Often likened to Joni Mitchell and Judee Sill, Elise says it must be the California seawater getting inside her head and heart from an early age. She has been writing songs since she was 8 years old, and recently was selected as a New Folk Finalist at the Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Competition.

She released her first studio album just last year, a group of songs written and recorded in Brooklyn, NY with producer and engineer Robin MacMillan, and a full band of local musicians. She is thrilled to be touring an even newer record in 2025, released in September of 2024, called “Memorandum”.