Will Seeders primarily builds old-time banjos and does instrument repair and restoration at his shop in Dorset, VT. Growing up in his father’s custom furniture shop and playing music since a young age, he values old-world craftsmanship while always looking for new ways to refine the details and fabrication incorporating his own unique touch and style. With his performance experience on banjo, fiddle, and guitar and his knowledge of wood and design, Will brings to life his own and customers’ ideas for a custom, personal instrument.

Allan Carr grew up in Aberdeen, Scotland, surrounded by the rich traditional music of his homeland, and is one of the finest singers from that tradition. His Celtic/Old-Time guitar backup perfectly complements many styles of fiddle tunes! In his 30+ years of making music on guitar, mandola and upright bass, Allan has performed throughout Canada, the British Isles and the U.S. He currently performs both solo and with his wife Jane Rothfield, and with the national touring dance band Coracree. He plays roots music, both Celtic and Old Time, that was often learned directly from the source, while expanding on that tradition with newly composed songs and tunes. He is also currently woodshedding on clawhammer banjo, but hasn’t unleashed it yet on the public!

Patrick M’Gonigle began playing violin at the age of 7 in Vancouver, British Columbia. He studied classically with Suzuki-trained violin teacher Yasuko Eastman in Victoria, BC and during this time won several awards for his classical music as both a soloist and member of several String Quartets and small ensembles. After several years of touring in Canada with an acoustic dance band, Patrick moved to Boston in 2008 to study at the Berklee College of Music. Upon graduation in 2013, he immediately began a Masters degree in Music from the New England Conservatory, graduating Summa Cum Lauda in 2015 with a performance degree from the Contemporary Improvisation department. In 2012 Patrick formed the Lonely Heartstring Band, a modern acoustic string-band quintet. Since 2012, the band has released an acclaimed record, “Deep Waters” on Rounder Records with a second album “Smoke and Ashes” released in early winter, 2019. In 2015, the Lonely Heartstring Band was awarded a “Momentum Award” of “Best New Band” by the International Bluergass Music Association (IBMA) and in both 2016 and 2017, the group was nominated for the IBMA award for “Emerging Artist of the Year”.

Born in St. Louis and raised in Baltimore, Mike Munford started playing banjo at age 15 and has been a professional bluegrass musician since 1976. Mike spent many years developing his craft and has played with a who’s who of bands and performers throughout the Washington, D.C. – Maryland area. His fluid style, both tasteful and driving, allows him to easily blend traditional and contemporary influences into his music. Mike currently tours with Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen, a highly acclaimed contemporary bluegrass band whose 2014 album ‘Cold Spell’ received a Grammy nomination. In 2013, Mike received the ‘Banjo Player of the Year’ award from the International Bluegrass Music Association. Mike lives in Pennsylvania.

Grace Gilbert is a native of North Yarmouth, Maine. Growing up singing and playing folk music with her father, she quickly fell in love with the sounds of traditional American music which led her to the world of Bluegrass. Grace started on guitar at age ten, was inspired by female powerhouse bluegrass artists such as Dale Ann Bradley, Carrie Hassler, New Coon Creek Girls, and Della Mae. She received a double Bachelors degree in Bluegrass Music and History from Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Grace is now based out of Portland, Maine and has taken on the role of vocalist and bassist for Tennesee-based band, Dreamcatcher

Steve Roy is a multi-instrumentalist from Eliot, Maine, who plays and teaches upright bass, mandolin, fiddle, guitar, and ukulele. He has toured nationally and internationally with acts such as Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum, John Reischman and the Taterbugs, Molly Tuttle, Joe K. Walsh, Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen, Joy Kills Sorrow, Hit and Run Bluegrass, and many others. He has been leading a weekly open bluegrass jam on the NH seacoast for over a decade. Bluegrass Now Magazine calls Steve a “devastating weapon.” Steve is currently a faculty member at 317 Main St. Community Music Center in Yarmouth, ME, and at Portsmouth Music and Arts Center in Portsmouth, NH. He has taught at bluegrass camps and workshops throughout the USA and Canada, including Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamp (TN), Nimblefingers Old Time & Bluegrass Workshops in British Columbia, and many others.

Known around the world for his clawhammer banjo playing, Joe Newberry is also a powerful guitarist, singer and songwriter. His song “Singing As We Rise,” won the 2012 IBMA “Gospel Recorded Performance” Award, and with Eric Gibson, he shared the 2013 IBMA “Song of the Year” Award for “They Called It Music.” A long-time and frequent guest on A Prairie Home Companion, he was a featured singer on the Transatlantic Sessions 2016 tour of the U.K., and at the Transatlantic Session’s debut at Merlefest in 2017. He was for many years the coordinator of Old-Time Week at the Augusta Heritage Center, and teaches at camps at home and abroad. Newberry has the distinction of having captured each banjo prize at the Appalachian String Band Music Festival in Clifftop, WV, over the years – from Fifth to First Place – and was just as happy with each place!

Michael J. Miles is a master banjoist, guitarist, orchestral composer, author of numerous theatrical works combining music and history, and acclaimed music educator. Alone in concert or with his signature stage production, “From Senegal To Seeger,” he has had standing ovations on four continents.
But give him a string quartet, a jazz band, an orchestra, a choir and Michael has created new music bringing critical rave and professional respect from musical legends.
“”This is enough to make me want to learn the banjo all over again.””   
 – Pete Seeger
In a world poisoned by international heartache Michael has reached across borders with music as the powerful and wordless weapon of respect. For his work in Morocco, Lebanon, and Turkey, Michael has been heralded by the US State Dept on three occasions for his powerful and enduring musical diplomacy.
“I commend you for your hard work as an educator, and send my best
wishes.” — President Bill Clinton