Rich Stillman - Banjo
Rich has been a banjo player-about-town in the Boston area for many years. Among other acts, he founded and led the progressive bluegrass band WayStation and played and recorded for Adam Dewey and Crazy Creek, The Bogus Family and currently Southern Rail. His banjo playing has appeared on a number of studio releases by other bluegrass folk and acoustic artists as well. He is six-time winner of the bluegrass banjo category at the Lowell Fiddle and Banjo Contest, and winner of the 2002 and 2003 New England Banjo Championship held at Maine's Ossipee Valley Bluegrass Festival. Rich is currently teaching at The Music Emporium, The Real School of Music and at his own studio, and at Tufts University as an Applied Faculty member. He also teaches Internet lessons through Skype, with students in four countries, and teaches private lessons at several New England bluegrass festivals. Rich is a regular faculty member at Banjo Camp North and contributed a chapter to the book Banjo Camp, along with Pete Seeger, Tony Trischka, Pete Wernick and others.
Lincoln Meyers is an award-winning guitarist who has been on the New England music scene for the past eighteen years, and has been playing professionally for thirty. Lincoln, who was featured on the cover of Flatpicking Guitar magazine's November/December issue 2010, has toured the world and has performed with bands including Erica Brown & The Bluegrass Connection, The New England Bluegrass Band, Tony Trischka, April Verch, and most recently Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen. Lincoln is a veteran instructor, teaching private lessons as well as being involved with and conducting guitar workshops and seminars around the country.
Bill Thibodeau started his musical career at an early age with help from Sam Tidwell (his father) and Fred Pike. They would teach him as he wanted and eventually performed with both of them. Bill also performed with Bluegrass Supply Company, Stan Tyminski, Union River Band and White Mountain Bluegrass and many others. Bill was involved in developing Main Street Music Studios in Bangor, Maine where the design was to have a complete musical experience from learning to play to recording a full length recording. Bill taught Bluegrass music to many students teaching mostly mandolin and banjo and assisting with many recordings at Main Street Music Studios. Bill moved to Rhode Island 2 years ago and began teaching at Rick's Musical Instruments in Cumberland RI where he still works and teaches. Most of the students he has are currently learning mandolin or banjo with a few fiddle and guitar students focusing on Bluegrass.
Formerly lead singer and guitarist for Northern New England's renown acoustic swing and bluegrass ladies, Sweet, Hot & Sassy! , Mary Maguire now heads her own distinctive trio, The Mary Maguire Band. She has 6 recordings and has been a guest artist on recordings of others, and toured with southern New Hampshire's Second Wind Bluegrass Band. 2011 will be Mary and Jeff's 11th year presenting their well-loved vocal workshops at New York's Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, as well as repeat classes at Joe Val (MA), Podunk (CT) Bluegrass, and Thomas Point Beach (ME) Festivals. Mary is also a long-time teacher of guitar and piano, and a song-writer.
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes is a Boston-based musician originally from Charlottesville, Virginia. Accepted on a scholarship to Berklee College of Music at age 16, she graduated in 2013 with a diploma in Violin Performance. Bronwyn is fast gaining recognition for her fiddling in both Irish and Bluegrass circles. Bronwyn has shared the stage with renowned musicians including Peter Rowan, Darol Anger and Mark O'Connor. She has performed at The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts; The Inter-Celtic Festival in Lorient, France and Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, among others. She toured France in 2012 with the international Irish music and dance show Celtic Dances, and she has also performed with Tomaseen Foley's Irish Times show alongside Grammy winner Bill Coulter.
When Andy Katz first heard the dobro (played by Jerry Douglas, on Tony Rice's Native American album) he was stunned, hooked by the plaintive vocal sound of the instrument. When he finally saw one played live, it was Roger Williams who got him started with an instrument and some pointers. Andy soon discovered Josh Graves, "Uncle" of the bluegrass dobro, and studied with Mike Auldridge, Andy Hall, Sally van Meter and Rob Ickes. He enjoys working out and picking fiddle tunes, though he feels that the "voice" of the dobro is particularly suited to supporting a singer. He's been fortunate to have picked with nearly every bluegrass picker in New England, and is a founding member of the Boston-based band Flatt Rabbit.
Award-winning flatpicking guitarist