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| Brendan Carey Block | Antrim's own fiddle sensation and the US National Junior Scottish Fiddle Champion. He has studied his beloved Cape Breton fiddle style with the great masters Buddy MacMaster, Natalie MacMaster, Jerry Holland and Dougie MacDonald. Brendan continues to receive very enthusiastic responses to his energetic performances at festivals and concerts throughout New York, New England and in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Check the schedule for the times and locations for Brendan's performances. |
| Bodaich | (pronounced BO-dicch) A band combining the talents of Mark Reynolds (vocals, guitar, bodhran) and Rich Block (acoustic bass and guitar), both of Antrim, with Jeff Baker (Irish flute and whistle) and Jake Stewart (fiddle and bouzouki). The group explores the vocal and instrumental traditions of Scotland and Ireland with sweet ballads, rollicking jigs and reels, and soul-wrenching laments and airs, along with classic tales of sailors, soldiers, scoundrels and lovers. Check the schedule for times and locations for performances by Bodaich. |
| Catamount Pipe Band | Recently formed in the central Vermont area by Iain Mac Harg, a well recognized and respected accomplished Grade 1 piper. Check the schedule for times and locations for Catamount Pipe Band performances. |
| Ceol Eire | An Irish band which includes local Uillean piper Bill Thomas, fiddler Connie Patton and guitarist Lila Feingold. Watch Ceol Eire perform or bring your instruments and join them in their sessiuns. Check the schedule for times and locations for both types of events. |
| Close Enough | Melanie Everard and Alouette Iselin have been playing together long enough to have worn out three hammered dulcimers. Their music has been described as "traditional Celtic tinged with a contemporary folk sound," blending "original, contemporary, classical and traditional pieces." In their day jobs, they both work with NH youth. Melanie is a music teacher in the Keene school system and Alouette is a family therapist. Between them they have two husbands, seven children and about 160 strings to tune on a regular basis, all of which leaves them less time for playing music than they would like.Check the schedule for times and locations for performances by Close Enough. |
| The High Road | A Vermont based band of dedicated musicians on the road of musical discovery, seeking common threads that join together tunes and songs from the Gaelic lands. Their music spans Scotland, Ireland and Brittany to the new world where it reflects cultures as diverse as Cape Breton and Appalachia. Members of The High Road are Iain MacHarg (highland pipes, small pipes, whistles, flute, bodhran, vocals), Howard Wooden (bass, concertina, guitar, vocals), Tom MacKenzie (hammered dulcimer, banjo, guitar, vocals) and Pete Sutherland (fiddle, keyboard, banjo, guitar, vocals). Check the schedule for times and locations for performances by The High Road. |
| McGonagle School of Irish Dance | Brenda Hamilton Coleman is an accomplished Irish Step Dancer who trained at the world-renowned Smith-Houlihan Academy of Irish Dance. Brenda was the New England Regional Champion in her age category in 1988 and later as a team dancer she won six consecutive national titles for figure choreography. In the fall of 1990 Brenda became a certified instructor of Irish Dance. Brenda started the McGonagle School of Irish Dance (named after her grandmother) in Woburn, MA, in 1993. In September of 1994 she branched out to Nashua and the McGonagle School became the first-ever Irish step dancing school in the state of New Hampshire. The school has grown over the years from 30 pupils to over 100. Students from the McGonagle School have successfully competed in dancing competitions from Montreal, Quebec to Washington, D.C. The McGonagle School has also performed for such groups as the Makem Brothers and the Nashua Symphony Orchestra and can be seen performing at numerous locations throughout the area around St. Patrick's Day. Check the schedule for times and locations for this group's interactive performances. |
| Mountain Streams Music | Mountain Streams is the duo of Jane Wilcox Hively and Jonathan Hively. They record at their home studio in North Conway, New Hampshire. Jane will charm you with her mezzo-soprano voice, celtic harp, guitar, dramatic interpretations and sparkling sense of humor. Jonathan's blazing Scottish bagpipes and kilted outfit will catch your attention, while his gentle hammered dulcimer playing and shepherd-like serenade on the penny whistle will add an air of enchantment to your enjoyment. Check the schedule for times and locations for performances by Mountain Streams Music. |
| Isabel Nichols | Isabel Nichols was born in Concord, NH but raised in Antrim where her ancestry on both sides goes back to the 18th century. She graduated from Antrim High School in 1940, attended the NE Conservatory of Music and taught music in this area for many years. She pursued a library degree at the University of Rhode Island and served as the Librarian at the Tuttle Library for a dozen years. Now retired, Isabel's major interest is in preserving and writing about local history. Isabel is a member of the Antrim Historical Society. Isabel will be presenting a workshop on the History of Antrim, NH. Check the schedule for the time and location. |
| Robbie O'Connell | This talented singer/songwriter was born in Waterford, Ireland and grew up in County Tipperary. He began to play guitar at age 13 and was a regular performer at his his parents' small hotel. Since 1977 he has performed professionally, both solo and with the Clancy Brothers, Mick Maloney, Jimmy Keane, Eileen Ivers and Seamus Egan. Robbie has recorded 13 albums for several record labels including Green Linnet, and has won many prestigious awards. He has appeared at many major US and international folk festivals. Check the schedule for the times and locations of Robbie O'Connell's performances. |
| Jerry O'Sullivan | Jerry O'Sullivan has been widely hailed as American's premier uilleann piper. His reputation for mastery of the instrument is unsurpassed in the United States. Jerry is also widely recorded on the Irish flute, the tin whistle, the low whistle, the Highland bagpipes and the Scottish smallpipes. Jerry has appeared on more than 60 albums, performing with the Boston Pops, Sinead O'Connor, Dolly Parton, Eileen Ivers, Seamus Egan and James Galway. He was a featured performer on Paul Winter's Grammy winning album, Celtic Solstice. Jerry's two solo albums, The Gift and The Invasion, have both received critical acclaim. Jerry is a gifted ambassador of the Irish uilleann pipes, maintaining the historic traditions and melodies of the instrument while expanding its range into new genres of music and media. Check the schedule for the times and locations of Jerry O'Sullivan's performances. |
| Old New England | A contra dance trio comprised of Deanna Stiles, flute and fiddle; Jane Orzechowski, New England and Swedish style fiddle; and Bob McQuillen, piano and accordion. Deanna, Jane and Bob have played with many different contra dance bands over the years, but they played their first dance as "Old New England" in the Francestown Town Hall on November 14, 1992. The band combines driving rhythms with a solid beat, tight sound and lively melodies, and features contemporary and traditional tunes with exciting harmonies created by Jane and Deanna. Old New England will be joined by Steve Zakon-Andersen, an accomplished and well known caller on the contra dance scene. Check the schedule for times and locations of the contra dance sessions. |
| Shake, Rattle and Bow | This lively duo features Steve Brown on bones and other percussion instruments and Ryan Thomson (Captain Fiddle) on fiddle, flute and accordion. They will be playing jigs, reels, hornpipes and other Celtic tunes, along with a surprise or two! In addition to performing, Ryan Thomson will also be offering a workshop on playing the tin whistle. Check the schedule for times and locations for performances and for Ryan's workshop. |
| Ruth Quigley Wellner | Ruth is an NEHGS Reference Librarian. She served on the Planning Committee for the New England Regional Genealogical Conference for 2000. Ruth was founder, first president and is currently the president of the Central Massachusetts Genealogical Society. She is also the editor of its publication, The Searchers. Raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil, she speaks Portuguese and received her B.S. in Education from Illinois State University. She is a professional genealogist specializing in Massachusetts and New England research. Ruth will be presenting a workshop on Beginning Genealogy. Check the schedule for the time and location. |
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