Noteworthy Artist Roster

To hear music clips for a specific artist, click on the MySpace link under their bio.
  If you want a sample from each artist, click here.
  Most artists also have video on their MySpace pages and/or YouTube.

Seamus Kennedy

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.
"...a wonderfully entertaining Irishman with a happy-to-see-you smile that could light up the sky...a captivating performance." ~ Anchorage Times

Dave Rowe Trio

Dave Rowe Trio They're great! (Under construction - check back soon!)
"...a great quote from a media source." ~ Media Source

Toby Walker

Toby Walker 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.

Toby has been eagerly received in concert halls, festivals, coffeehouses throughout the U.S., England and France. Having educated himself in the genre, he loves sharing his knowledge with others and performs extensively in libraries and schools. He teaches at Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch in Ohio. In 2006, Carnegie Hall has hired him to augment and teach in their "American Roots" program aimed at honor level middle school students. This one-of-a-kind series demonstrates the history of blues music and how it tells the story of African Americans as they migrated from the south into the north.

"Now you play them blues real good. I want you to carry them on for me."
~ Eugene Powell, Mississippi blues musician

Pat Wictor

Pat Wictor Steeped in American "roots" music, Pat Wictor is a contemporary songwriter and interpreter drawing on the rural country, gospel, and blues traditions of our nation. His intricate lap slide guitar anchors his blues-based Americana music. With flowing red hair and zen-like calm, his warm, easy-going style reaches into each listener's heart. People delight in his wry observations and anecdotes, and in the generous spirit of his performances. His singing voice is clear and hope-filled - perfect for lyrics with a penchant for symbolic and spiritual imagery.

Pat took a convoluted path to folk music, winding his way through rock, heavy metal and jazz. He started with guitar, shifted to bass, moved to saxophone and then quit music entirely before a return in 1993, a time when he also began composing songs. By 2001, he left a teaching career to pursue music fulltime. After years of quiet dedication to his craft, Pat is emerging as an important new voice. He has been featured at high-profile festivals - Philadelphia, Old Songs, Falcon Ridge - and the better listening rooms are starting to take note. He has released five recordings. His three solo CDs, done over the last four years, have garnered the most notice. In addition to his own tunes, Pat happily introduces his audience to the music of other artists, adding his signature with diverse arrangements.

It has been suggested that Pat is a man on a quest and it is an apt observation. In truth, he is in search of a better world for us all - in our souls, our homes and our universe - and he knows how important it is to enjoy the journey.
"Pat Wictor's songs, his blues-tinged slide guitar and mellow performance style impress the hell out of me. Watch out for this guy. He's a terrific new talent."
~ Gene Shay, WXPN, Philadelphia

The Reverend Billy C. Wirtz

The Reverend Billy C. Wirtz From the moment he sits down at the piano and lights into his Southern old-time gospel and blues with a twist, the six-foot-five-inch, goateed, tattooed tongue-in-cheek "Rev" commands the stage and spreads the "gospel" like nobody's business. With puns flying as fast as his fingers, the Rev plays masterly boogie-woogie and barrelhouse riffs while holding forth on subjects as diverse as W.W.E.D.? (What Would Elvis Do?), Mennonite Surf Parties, and dubious relationships between people you are terrified that you may actually know.

While widely recognized as a humorist, music is his forte. In the early 80žs, he shared a walk-up with the late blues legend Sunnyland Slim, learning to appreciate the Blues and to perform it with fervor. A recognized musicologist, Billy has written about music, legendary performers and life on the road for Musician, Keyboard and, most recently, BluesWax. He is a regular contributor to the Charlotte Observer. Workshops on Blues and/or Gospel Music at festivals and universities have left students clamoring for more.

The Rev has taken on a new medium, with a weekly radio shows, "The Reverend Billy's Rhythm Revival" on WFIT-FM (FL) and a totally different show on KPIG (CA). The WFIT program airs Friday from 10 pm to midnight (EST) while the KPIG show comes on Sundays from 9 PM to 11 PM.  Both can be heard live worldwide via streaming audio on the stations' websites. With The Rev no further away than your computer, it is possible that world domination is within his grasp.
"Wirtz's throwaway gags would be show-stopping punch lines in anyone else's act, but Wirtz glides right over them like a revved-up Robin Williams at a Steinway."
~ Music Critic, The Washington Post



Blues at the Crossroads: Saints and Sinners

    featuring Toby Walker and Pat Wictor

Pat Wictor 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.
Toby Walker 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.

Musicians know that the elements of a good show are the same as a good relationship: similar enough to be compatible, different enough to be intriguing.  This is a good show.
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