bohola – Jimmy Keane and Pat Broaders
Described by The Irish Herald as Irish music's newest supergroup, bohola
presents a driving, muscular, and yet very emotive style of Irish music, infused
with the raw and gritty urbanized musical vernacular of the Irish and Irish-American experience.
Bohola brings together the accordion talents of multi-time All Ireland champion Jimmy Keane
and bouzar and vocalist extraordinaire Pat Broaders.
Together, they bring to life the ancient melodies of Ireland, songs brought to North America by immigrants,
and newly composed songs from here and abroad. Whether sticking to tradition
or presenting something new, bohola is here to serve this great music, play from the heart,
and bring to the audience the core and spirit of what the music we play and sing is about.
We can't wait to have them at the Folk Festival this year!
Rhys Jones, Joseph Decosimo & Nokosee Fields
Rhys, Joseph and Nokosee bring together three incredibly talented interpreters of music from the Appalachian South.
Rhys Jones is one of the most respected traditional musicians in the United States.
He began playing fiddle at age 6, learned from luminaries such as Glen Smith, Melvin Wine and Ernie Carpenter,
and has played at square dances around the Midwest and on the stages of Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.
Joseph Decosimo is a leading interpreter of the fiddle, banjo and song traditions
from Appalachia.
He has introduced audiences around the world to the beauty and vitality of the region's music.
His performances are inviting and nourishing, connecting audiences to the older music's transcendent beauty.
Raised as a member of the Osage, Creek and Cherokee Nations,
over the last few years musician, artist, and collaborator Nokosee Fields has proven himself to be
one of the most provocative, significant, and capable voices in the North American traditional music scene.
The Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee
Mining the fertile common ground between bluegrass, early country music, and traditional mountain music,
The Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee are Virginia's torchbearers of the old time Bluegrass sound.
Featuring the classic quintet of fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar, and bass,
the band comprises five masterful musicians and singers who have immersed themselves in the dance music traditions
of the Blue Ridge region and developed a deeply rooted old time bluegrass sound.
Deep appreciation for Country and "Hillbilly" music of the '30s, '40s, and '50s enables the band
to craft tasteful original songs and instrumentals that blend seamlessly alongside the classics.
Nathan Gourley, Laura Feddersen, and Brian Miller
Nathan Gourley and Laura Feddersen are an Irish fiddle duo hailing from Boston, Massachusetts.
Their playing is steeped in lifelong study of the Irish musical tradition,
and is at the same time colored by their American roots.
The pair have developed a unique style of twin fiddling, sometimes playing in taut unison,
sometimes exploring chordal harmonies and rhythmic and melodic variations.
Brian Miller fell in love with Irish traditional music and song as a teenager in northern Minnesota
and followed the music to its source in Ireland and to its many strongholds in the US — playing with and learning from a rich assortment of tradition bearers along the way.
T'Monde
This rocking Cajun trio (Drew Simon, accordion and Vocals; Megan Brown,guitar and vocals;
Kelli Jones, fiddle and vocals) offers waltzes,two-steps and soulful songs of the bayou
to tantalize both the Heart and the feet. Drew's been here before as part of the spectacular
Pine Leaf Boys, but that stint accounts for but a few of the combined ten Grammy nominations these
players bring with them. Influences ranging from early country, ancient French and Creole ballads
as well as modern Cajun give them a unique and enticing sound.