Robbie Bankes is a Calgary native with a passion for folk music from around the world. Robbie has been performing traditional Quebecois and Celtic tunes since 2010 as “Robbie and Will,” and more recently as a trio by the name of “Ida Red.” Robbie has also embraced American Old Time music, and can be found performing traditional tunes from the Appalachian region of the United States, around Alberta. Robbie started his musical career playing guitar, and has since become competent on the banjo and has his sights set on the Hardanger fiddle played in Norwegian Folk Music. Robbie’s ability to pick up an instrument or a regional style of music is exceptional, and his love of music is apparent at each of his performances.

Singer, songwriter, storyteller. Western, Celtic, folk. Calgary based performer Alison Demeter loves to tell and sing stories and as with her recent performances at the Pincher Creek Cowboy Poetry Gathering, the Calgary Stampede and Water Valley Celtic Music Festival, it would be unusual for you not to be invited to sing along. With an eclectic range of musical influences, Alison’s 2010 debut album Moments in Time shares stories that celebrate the lives of ordinary people and events. http://www.songs-we-remember.com

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That Goat Over There features not one but two of Calgary’s very best fiddlers. Barb Olorenshaw of Seancara will be joined by Lesley Jefferson and Dave Settles of The Sunday Nite Band.

John Leeder has been around homemade music, much of it folk music, all his life. Growing up in the village of Inglewood, Ontario, he learned traditional songs from his mother, and from Edith Fowke’s and Alan Mills’s folk music programs on CBC radio. As a child, he was taught Hawaiian guitar by his father, who played many stringed instruments, and in his teens he began picking up guitar and 5-string banjo, as well as a smattering of fiddle and mandolin. The banjo became his main instrument at that time, but later on the octave mandolin was added, and became one of his mainstays. Canadian traditional music is his first love, with British “trad” and American old-time music coming a close second. His own songwriting reflects these interests — “big choruses” and strong storytelling are hallmarks of his songs

The Sunday Nite Band are well known (if little recorded) in the Calgary Area. Commander Jim Dauncey is a vocalist and rhythm guitarist par excellence. In addition to playing bass, MaryLou Dauncey has a vocal reportoire that includes ballads and tender love songs with a bit of comedy thrown in for good measure. Dave Settles not only makes bodhrans, but manages to make them sound like legitimate musical instruments; he is also a multi-instrumentalist with a flair for stand-up comedy. Michael “Doc” Pollack adds colour with a variety of instruments including harp, and belts out full-voiced chanties and chorus songs that let the band show off its harmony singing. A recent addition to the band is Lesley Jefferson whose remarkable fiddle playing runs the gamut from hell-for-leather reels to slow airs that would bring a tear to a glass eye. More than anything else, the Sunday Nite Band is known for the variety of their repertoire and their infectious sense of fun on stage.

The Sunday Nite Band has stopped performing.

A musical treasure, and called the Mona Lisa of fiddle players, Roxanne is one of only 14 musicians in the world to be honoured on the renowned Berklee College of Music’s stringed instrument Hall of Fame. She has worked with Aerosmith, Disney, Cirque de Soleil, Alanis Morissette and many more. She has performed all over the world and has graced the stage of Carnegie Hall with her breathtaking musical genius.

After 14 years of touring, Roxanne took a break from the road to study with mentor, Matt Glaser and graduated from Berklee College of Music on a scholarship for Jazz Performance and Arranging for Big Band and Orchestra.

After settling in Calgary, Roxanne founded the Calgary Contemporary School of Music in 2006, in hopes of promoting musical culture in Calgary and providing instruction in alternative musical styles. “I have the opportunity to influence and encourage my students the way my teachers did for me, to provide them with performance opportunities and nurture the understanding of musicianship as a profession.”

She also dedicated 5 years to the creation and evolutionary process of the international touring sensation, Barrage, incorporating many styles, from calypso and swing to Chinese jazz-fusion. Barrage was a huge success, leading to extensive tours throughout Canada, the USA, Europe and Asia, 4 full-length recordings, 2 MTV videos, a DVD documentary and a special on Public Television.

“My influences include Mark O’Connor, Jean Luc Ponty, Stephane Grappelli, Didier Lockwood, Darol Anger, The Chieftains and Natalie

Gord Churchill is a story teller, who has been practicing his craft for over thirty years. He started as a minister telling stories in church, then joined a story telling circle, and has told stories in many venues. Along with Mary Hays he was selected to tell stories at the Lieutenant Governor’s celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee at the McDougal Centre in Calgary last summer. He as been part of the Story Slam Calgary at both of their recent events and is a regular member of The Alberta League Encouraging Story Telling (TALES).

Of most stories, Gord says, “Well, it may not have happened exactly this way, but it is true.” Gord prefers to tell his own stories, and is working at crafting original stories.

Paddy Byrne (Fiddle, Banjo, Mandolin, Guitar & Vocals) and Boh Woodward (Mandolin, Guitar, Bass), both bring 40 years of experience in playing Blue Grass, Celtic, Old Time & Fiddle Music. Maureen Woodward (Rhythm Guitar & Vocals), after a very long hiatus, picked up the guitar a little over two years ago and is enjoying the wide variety that acoustic music provides.

Our trio met through the Foothills Bluegrass Society and has come together through a mutual appreciation of similar musical tastes.

Robert Mulchrone is 8 1/2 years old. He started piano when he was 5 and violin at 6. Robert is classically trained on violin but plays Traditional Folk music with family and friends. This year Robert played solo violin with the “Stars of Kiwanis” festival at the Jubilee Auditorium and with the “European Masters” at the MRU Leacock Theatre. He joined in the youth Stampede Talent and Heritage Park Centennial Fireworks. He also played an Irish Set with his parents at the tribute to Jack Layton on St Patrick’s Day, joined with the Wayfaring Fiddlers at East Coulee Spring Festival and played solo at the Water Valley Celtic Festival. This summer he travelled in France and studied music at the Centre Escapade Coeur Joie in Vaison La Romaine, in Provence.

Robert’s talents are not limited to music. Last year he joined the Nancy Green Club ski race team and won first place at the COP race and a scholarship. He also enjoys ice-skating, cycling, swimming and tennis and joining in any other fun activities that might be going on!