Davey is no stranger to Celtic Folk, and we are honoured to have him back. Anyone who has been to one of his dervish sessions at The Oak Tree Pub, Molly Malone’s and others in and about town will attest to his superb musicianship.

Dave is from County Kildare, Ireland. He began his musical career playing in rock bands around Ireland but traditional music soon took over for him. After experimenting with many different alternate tunings for his song writing he found that DADGAD tuning was the sound he was looking for. Listening to bands like Planxty and the Bothy Band inspired him to explore the rhythmic possibilities in Irish music. Dave has developed a percussive and complimentary style of playing which has been described as the “engine” of sessions. Dave has played with some of the top names in Irish music such as Frankie Gavin and Maurice Lennon. Now living in Calgary, Dave is thrilling audiences at sessions and teaching avid students as part of the FAMI faculty.

Emilie Kirwan is from Ballynacally, a village outside Ennis in Co. Clare. She attended the University of Limerick and has a Masters in Traditional Irish music performance. Martin Hayes and Gerry O’Connor were just two of her teachers in the Masters program.

Mercat Cross (literally meaning a meeting/market place in old Scottish towns) was formed in 2010, mainly as a result of a demand in Alberta for quality, live Scottish dance music for country dancing. The members of the band frequently perform for Scottish Country Dances and Contra Dances, but also perform a wider variety of music at numerous other events in communities throughout Alberta.

Graham Tait (accordion, vocals, feet, bones) and Chris Gregg (piano, vocals, fiddle, Northumbrian pipes), hope to be joined by Chris’s brother, Andy Mckay, who is a musician and is visiting from England. Together you can be sure that they will rock the house.

Graham hails from Scotland and has lived in Canada for almost 20 years. A native of Edinburgh, Graham was introduced to the piano accordion at a young age, and has been a guest musician on several albums of traditional music. Graham has a love of French Canadian music and has had the pleasure to play music with the likes of Benoit Bourque (La Bottine Souriante), who taught him the art of bones percussion and ‘le gallope’ (foot percussion)!

Originally from Northern England, Chris is a multi-talented jack of all trades who can build or fix almost anything! Chris has studied the art of piano tuning for several years with some of Canada’s master piano tuners, so gets to spend a lot of time playing beautiful pianos! A great piano accompaniest, Chris also likes to

Tessitura brings an engaging texture to its music from the rich and varied experience of its three members. Diverse musical backgrounds combine to create a unique sound incorporating folk, Celtic, country and blues genres. We love to engage you, our audience, and we’ll throw in the occasional musical surprise to make you laugh, feel, tap your feet or sing along. Whether it’s a contemporary song or a tune from days gone by, our music is inspired by tradition and has a timeless quality.

Tessitura features Doug Baker on vocals & guitar, Fiona McGinn on vocals, guitar & mandolin, and Murray Little on bass.

Barry Luft’s singing has woven rich, colourful threads into the fabric of folk-style music in Alberta for more than thirty years.

Barry presents Canadian, British and American songs and ballads with instrumental accompaniment or a cappella arrangements. He engages his audiences in these musical performances and gives a healthy lift to minds, hearts and voices. Good times leave good memories!

Much of Barry’s material is unusual and refreshing. It comes from sources across North America and the British Isles and is seldom known in the everyday music scene. For example, in his repertoire are songs learned first hand at guitar and music camps.

A variety of instruments perks up Barry’s performances and his intricate style on the five-string banjo is his trademark. He was taught at age five to play the harmonica by his dad. Other instruments now include guitar, autoharp, English concertina, and Appalachian dulcimer. However, to this day, Barry claims he’s not able to read music well enough to hurt his playing.

For more information, you can check out the Barry Luft webpage.

Jan Pearce is a lifelong musician and celtic music buff. She has played as a warm up act for the beloved Canadian east coast musician John Allen Cameron and loves to create new stylings for old melodies on her beautiful celtic harp. She is pleased to present selections from her album “Knots and Crosses” currently in the works.

Prairie Dog Convention are: Alex Koddo (mandolin, guitar, vocals), Barry Hertz (guitar, banjo, vocals), Karen Pollock (flute, vocals), Liz Recompsat (guitar, vocals), Neil Christoffersen (vocals), and not pictured, Paddy Byrne (fiddle, vocals).

Alex and Karen are steeped in the traditions of Celtic music. Alex was a key member of Connor’s Revenge, and Karen played with the Celtic Rabbits for over 10 years. Alex is currently in the Bluegrass Club and St. Martins Music Group, and Karen performs with the quartet Diminished Fifth and our very own house band, The Rakes of Sunday.

Barry has recorded two beautiful and well-received country folk albums entitled “Sure Cure” and a “Cowboy’s Prayer”. Currently, he performs both as a solo act and with his son Joe Hertz of Celtic Cowboy fame. He is proud of having been invited to play at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada in January 2014.

Liz Recompsat has enjoyed playing guitar and singing in kitchen party music settings for many years.

Recording artist Big Cat Daddy (Neil Christoffersen) lends his powerhouse vocals to the evolving sound of Prairie Dog Convention.

The inimitable Paddy Byrne provides a sweet fiddle sound that spans traditional bluegrass, celtic and folk ballads.

In search of fun and adventure, these veteran performers went underground to jam and let off some steam. There they found themselves playing everything from Celtic to Cajun with intriguing detours in between. Prairie Dog Convention was born! Their music is drawn from Folk,

Driven to raise money to go to Disney Land as elementary school kids, the JansenSisters began singing publicly on the streets of Calgary, armed with their City of Calgary Busking license and accompanied by their Dad on guitar.

At the age of 14, Cassidy taught herself to play guitar and the siblings ousted their Dad from the band. In just three years, Cassidy, Micah and Alixx have incorporated the ukulele, mandolin, cajon, upright bass and most recently the banjo into their repertoire.

Originally the band sang songs crafted by their parents but recently they have been penning their own songs. They sing songs that reflect their family, faith, and friendships.

Their most notable achievements to date are having won the $1000 Grand Prize for the 18 and Under Originals in Long and McQuade’s 2013 national Head-to-Head Music Showdown and being runner’s up for the 2014 Calgary Folk Festival Song writing Contest in the Sonic Youth division. You can check out their EP on Bandcamp.

Prairie Dog Convention are: Alex Koddo (mandolin, guitar, vocals), Barry Hertz (guitar, banjo, vocals), Karen Pollock (flute, vocals), Liz Recompsat (guitar, vocals), Neil Christoffersen (vocals), and not pictured, Paddy Byrne (fiddle, vocals). Alex and Karen are steeped in the traditions of Celtic music. Alex was a key member of Connor’s Revenge, and Karen played with the Celtic Rabbits for over 10 years. Alex is currently in the Bluegrass Club and St. Martins Music Group, and Karen performs with the quartet Diminished Fifth and our very own house band, The Rakes of Sunday.

Barry has recorded two beautiful and well-received country folk albums entitled “Sure Cure” and a “Cowboy’s Prayer”. Currently, he performs both as a solo act and with his son Joe Hertz of Celtic Cowboy fame. He is proud of having been invited to play at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada in January 2014.

Liz Recompsat has enjoyed playing guitar and singing in kitchen party music settings for many years.

Recording artist Big Cat Daddy (Neil Christoffersen) lends his powerhouse vocals to the evolving sound of Prairie Dog Convention.

The inimitable Paddy Byrne provides a sweet fiddle sound that spans traditional bluegrass, celtic and folk ballads.

In search of fun and adventure, these veteran performers went underground to jam and let off some steam. There they found themselves playing everything from Celtic to Cajun with intriguing detours in between. Prairie Dog Convention was born! Their music is

The Balzac Kitchen Party Band has delighted audiences at Water Valley and other venues. They came together for the joy of playing music. At Celtic Folk they will share songs that have crossed the Atlantic and back as well as music composed by members of the group.

Judy Guglielmin, vocals and fiddle finds her musical origins in a strong family tradition.

Glen Nott, bass, is well known in Alberta participating in a number of musical groups.

Luke Sandham, guitar and vocals, trained in music at the U of C, teaches music in the Rockyview School Division and plays with a blues band. Luke also created all of the instruments the band will play with the exception of Judy’s fiddle.

Dean Sandham plays clawhammer banjo.

Cathie Kernaghan is a Calgary story-teller.

Cathie has been passionate about oral storytelling since joining the Alberta League Encouraging Storytelling (TALES) in 1998. She has emerged as a professional storyteller through the practice of oral storytelling with audiences of all ages. Her storytelling opportunities have taken place in tellarounds, storycafes, storytelling festivals, community performances, preschools, elementary schools, and libraries.

Cathie has a wide repertoire of stories which include folk and fairytales, myths, legends, and family tales.