Seamus Kennedy
Long before there was a computer on every desk, Seamus was providing "interactive entertainment"
to delighted audiences from one end of the country to another. He is quick with a quip and likes
nothing better than to discover someone in the audience who is similarly inclined. He makes it all
seem so effortless that it is easy to miss that he is a superb instrumentalist with an apparently
infinite repertoire. The depth of his musicality allows him to tailor his show to the audience
before him, whether it be children, families or adults. Originally from Belfast in Northern Ireland, he sings the music of his native land with emotion born of knowing its history firsthand. But he is far from simply a singer of Celtic songs. Fast-paced humor is very much a part of what Seamus does, whether he's telling a series of rapid-fire jokes or launching into a lyrical parody. He will segue seamlessly from an Irish ballad about a dying town to a rollicking reel and then move into American music, equally at home with folk, pop, country or traditional. Throughout it all, he is having such a grand time that you can't help but want to join in.
Toby Walker is an accomplished fingerstyle guitarist, who is also adept at ragtime
and bottleneck. His mastery of the art was recognized in Memphis in 2002, when he won the
International Blues Challenge Award. He is a skilled singer and songwriter, drawing inspiration
from traditional and contemporary blues, folk, ragtime, and country. His passion for the music drove him to leave an apartment crammed full of recordings,
books and instruments to wander around the Mississippi Delta, Virginia and the Carolinas
tracking down some of the more obscure - but immensely talented - music makers of an earlier era. He spent time and swapped tunes with Eugene Powell, James Son Thomas, Etta Baker, and R.L Burnside. He draws on these travels to tell the humorous and heartwarming tales of learning the blues at the
feet of these old time musicians. You can catch some of the flavor of these stories on his
website in the Visit the South section. His fifth CD, Plays Well with Others,
came out in 2006. 
Think Yin and Yang, opposites attract and all those men trying to get in touch with their
feminine side - each an example of how we seek out and embrace our oppositional counterparts
for completeness. Toby Walker and Pat Wictor's Blues at the Crossroads: Saints and Sinners
celebrates the varied, often contradictory, faces of the Blues. Toby's forte is the more
traditional Blues sound: a low-down, earthy growl about people coping with hard times and
bad choices. Pat finds inspiration in both Blues and Gospel where redemption is within reach
for all. On stage, the contrast is just as great. Pat, tall and lean with a cascade of red
hair, blends wry humor and a generosity of spirit as he welcomes people to his world. Toby
is more compact with an infectious laugh and a sense of coiled energy on stage as he narrates
his musical odyssey. 
The contrast stops there. Both are superb instrumentalists. Toby roamed the southern states
seeking out the more obscure - but immensely talented - musicians who helped create the sound
he loves. From them, he learned to both respect the tradition and carry it forward, adding his
own flair. Pat took a circuitous route to acoustic music, moving through rock, heavy metal and
jazz. His instrument selection was just as adventurous, starting with guitar, moving to bass,
on to saxophone before finding slide guitar. Both men bring a level of expertise to the stage
that allows them to improvise fearlessly. Both pull their audiences in with their own pleasure
in sharing the music and their fierce dedication to their craft. 