Performing at the 2011 Atlantic Fiddlers Jamboree

Frank Ferrel
Frank is considered to be one of the leading North American fiddlers performing today. In a recent Boston Globe article,
music critic Scott Alarik referred to Mr. Ferrel as "One of the finest living masters of that genre. Mr. Ferrel is widely regarded as a composer of traditional fiddle music - the classic Cape Breton jig, Spin-N-Glo, is one of his compositions. His tunes have been widely recorded by such notable Cape Breton musicians as, Buddy MacMaster, Ashley MacIssac, Brenda Stubbert, Joe Cormier, and Andrea Beaton to name a few. He has performed at major festivals throughout North America including both the Vancouver and Winnipeg Folk Festivals, Cape Breton’s Celtic Colours Festival, The National Folk Festival in Lowell, Massachusetts, and the Los Angeles Summer Solstice Festival. He has recorded for such prestigious labels as Rounder Records, Voyager, Flying Fish, and Great Meadow Music. He has published two collections of traditional music for the international music publisher, MelBay, and his seminal recording, Yankee Dreams, was chosen by the American Library of Congress as one of their, “Select list of 25 recordings of American folk music on record.”

Brenda Stubbert
Brenda was raised in Point Aconi, a small Cape Breton fishing & mining community a few miles from North Sydney and Sydney Mines. The Northside is known for its rich musical traditions. The Stubbert household had regular musical visitors including fiddlers Winston Fitzgerald, Johnny Wilmot, Joe Confiant and many others. Brenda started young. Surrounded by music, by the time she was five she commenced with dancing and the piano. A short while later, about age eight, she started on the fiddle. Her father, brothers and uncles all played the fiddle. Her father Robert, could be described as an Irish player while her uncle Lauchie played and composed with a Scottish style. Brenda's music has taken her to Ireland, Scotland, Mexico and hundreds of places around Canada and the US. She is in constant demand throughout Cape Breton. Her dances are lively and well attended. Her recordings have been well received, and many players have learned her compositions.



Kimberley Fraser
Kimberley Fraser was born on Cape Breton Island, and nurtured within its rich musical heritage. She first began to impress audiences at the age of three with her step-dancing talents. Soon after that she took up both the fiddle and the piano. She has traveled the world, from Victoria to Afghanistan, performing at venues such as The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. bringing Cape Breton music with her wherever she goes. Dan MacDonald of the Cape Breton Post says about Fraser’s versatility, “She has matured to become one of the stellar players of the Cape Breton fiddle tradition, equally at home at a house party, playing for a square dance or on stage for a concert in Bras d'Or or Boston, Scotsville or Scotland.” Kimberley has shared the stage with the finest acts in Celtic music, such as Alasdair Fraser, Martin Hayes and Lunasa. In 2006, Kimberley released her second studio album, Falling on New Ground, a winner of the East Coast Music Award for best Roots/Traditional Album of the Year. This self-produced album reflects on her experiences and growth as a musician since the release of her first studio album Heart Behind the Bow in 2000. Falling on New Ground demonstrates Kimberley’s many talents and versatility.

Alexandre Deraspe & Louis-Charles Vigneau

  Alexandre Deraspe: This young energetic young fiddler from the Magdelen Islands of many talents takes us to a place where tunes flow to the music of the sea. Alexandre is proud of his roots. His performances are a reflection of the joie de vivre of his ancestors, notably his grandfather, Arnold Deraspe. His bowing and his style of playing is authentic to his origins and perfectly reflect the style of the Islands where cottillons, rabeustants, waltzes and reels brings movement to your feet.

Louis-Charles Vigneau: This young experienced musician was born in the Magdelen Islands from a musical family. With guitar, mandolin, banjo and his voice he approaches his art in connection with his roots from Acadia and his many trips around the world. He has evolved over the past three years alongside the band Vishtèn, a great experience on national and international scenery. Now works as accompanist for many solo musicians, Louis-Charles also sharing his passion workshop in schools and teach in music camps.



 

 Pepeto Pinto
Originally from Jamaica, Pepeto Pinto is a professional steel drum player. He builds himself his instruments with a unique melodic and rhythmic sound. After spending 3 years in Cheticamp, Cape Breton, Pepeto became the first steel drum player in the world to interpret the "tunes" of fiddle. He is now making a career of his music in Montreal where he lives with his wife Nathalie Arsenault.

Nathalie Arsenault
Growing up in a family of musicians, Nathalie Arsenault quickly learned stepdancing and playing tunes in the kitchen parties. She has won provincial championships in stepdancing several times. Nathalie shared the stage with many renowned artists as Natalie McMaster, Richard Wood and Angèle Arsenault. Nathalie never leaves home without her violin and she shares Acadian music wherever she goes, whether in France, Africa, Jamaica and now in Montreal.



J.J. Chaisson
One of the renowned Chaisson fiddlers from Bear River, PEI, JJ Chaisson has been wowing audiences since the age of six. He has played across the Maritimes, New England, and as far away as the Rockies in Denver, Colorado. He has four albums to his credit.

Peter Chaisson & Kevin Chaisson

Peter Chaisson is the fiddler of The Chaisson Trio from Eastern PEI, this trio is also composed Kevin Chaisson on keyboard, and songs from Lem Chaisson. Kevin will be accompanying Peter at the Atlantic Fiddlers Jamboree this year.  With over 30 years experience, the Chaissons are accomplished leaders in the revival of traditional music in PEI. Thanks to this family’s talent and dedication towards the preservation of traditional music, the Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival has been active for the past 35 years, and still continues to run strong.

Melissa Gallant
    Originally from the Evangeline region of Prince Edward Island where Acadian, Irish, and Scottish music is part of everyday life, Melissa took up dancing at the age of two and fiddling 10 years later. She has won many awards in both disciplines during her career. In 1999, she released a solo album and was nominated for an ECMA award. She was part of the group Celtitude/Vishten from 1999 to 2003 and got to tour France, the United States, and Canada. She is best known for her energetic step dancing and fiddling.

Ten Strings and A Goat Skin
Sharing a passion for traditional music, this young bilingual trio is riding a new wave of pride in the Acadian, French and Irish cultures they share and are exploring ways to bring new life to well-worn and much-loved standards and songs. Jesse Periard, Caleb Gallant and Rowen Gallant are TEN STRINGS & A GOAT SKIN.

Louise Arsenault

Louise Arsenault ( fiddle, harmonica, guitar, vocals, dance ) Louise began to sneak her father's fiddle out of its' case at the age of seven. She was soon playing with a lively flair, much to everyone's delight and amusement. She has since gone on to develop her own fiddle style, which is distinctive to Prince Edward Island, with an Acadian "swing". An experienced performer, whether step dancing, playing guitar or harmonica, she is right at home on the stage. She was a member of renowned Acadian band Barachois and the traditional French-Acadian band Gadelle.

Anastasia DesRoches

Anastasia DesRoches offers a sampling of original tunes from Acadian fiddle players of Prince Edward Island mixed in with some better known traditional tunes and old favorites. She has recently finished collecting almost 300 new Acadian fiddle tunes from her contemporaries. She is happy to share this new music along with some of her own compositions as well.

Ward MacDonald
Ward is one of PEI’s most accomplished and well-rounded fiddlers. He has played concerts, festivals and square dances across the Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario and the Yukon. Ward is also an emerging composer whose works have been published or recorded by artists such as Jerry Holland, Andrea Beaton, and Vishten. For the past decade, Ward has helped to promote and develop the traditional fiddle music scene on PEI. As well as performing, Ward teaches fiddling and volunteers with the PEI Fiddlers Society. He is the founder of PEI Fiddle Camp.

Keelin Wedge
  Talented teenager Keelin Wedge started stepdancing at the age of three and playing the fiddle at six. She then picked up the mandolin, the guitar and the banjo. She has performed in about a dozen different dinner theatre productions over the past summers. She hasn't actually counted them, but Keelin estimates she knows more than 100 fiddle tunes. In June 2006, sixteen of those tunes are featured on her first CD which she named Fingers on Fire.