Performers Bios 2022

Bill Dempsey is a singer who accompanies himself on guitar, ukulele, banjo, dulcimer, harmonica, concertina, tin whistle and a myriad of other instruments.  Originally a trombonist he has continued to expand his music over the years.  He is truly a one man band!

Bill has a deep and abiding love of the sea.  He has been the Shanty Man onboard the Brig Pilgrim and booked, performed, MC’d the Tall Ships Festival in Dana Point, Ca. for 26 years.  He has performed at major sea music festivals on both coasts.  He has two sea music CDs: “Shanty Man” & “Round The Horn.”

Portland, Oregon-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Megan Cronin blends sweet and sadness with heartache with renewal in her pointed lyrics and ethereal string arrangements.

Portland, Oregon-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Megan Cronin blends sweet and sadness with heartache with renewal in her pointed lyrics and ethereal string arrangements.

Megan grew up listening to all types of music with her family in Michigan. She learned to play the violin in middle school and, though she was quite squeaky at first, she kept with it and eventually made it to first chair in high school, lettering in orchestra as well as learning classical string bass along the way.

After graduating from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, Megan joined a bluegrass group and taught herself fiddle style.  In 2008 she moved to Portland, Oregon and started playing in various rock and folk groups while studying classical violin and viola.  Now working as a violin, viola and composition teacher, Megan has also added a singer/songwriter set to her repertoire.  She can be seen performing solo and with groups in the Northwest, playing violin, viola, acoustic guitar or her new love, tenor guitar.  Megan is celebrating the release of her fourth EP titled “Home,” realeased April 2021.  You may learn more about Megan and her music at her website, http://megancroninmusic.com/.

“Driving down a two-track backroad with the windows rolled down: a warm summer breeze whisping through your hair: the sun shining through the bright pigments of summer leaves:  a soft smile on your lips at your inner feeling of peace.  The music of Megan Cronin is like this.  A sound so smooth and pure, it lulls one into a simple bliss with delightfully effortless tunes.”  Fallon Gates – The Michigan Daily

Jerry Callahan is a singer/songwriter/guitarist from Kennewick.  He grew up in Western Massachusetts and started playing electric guitar in his teens.  He led several rock bands in Holyoke and Amherst MA in the 70s and 80s, playing the college circuit and building a repertoire of original rock and blues tunes.

After relocating to the Pacific Northwest in the late 90s, Callahan started playing acoustic guitar, performing at open mics and farmer’s markets around the area.  His acoustic music reflects his love for acoustic blues, his Irish heritage, and artists such as Neil Young, Jorma Kaukonen, and Nick Drake.

Skweez The Weezle is an acoustic band that has been proudly carrying on the Celtic music tradition since March 1999 from their base of operations in the Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Pasco, Richland), West Richland, Benton City, and Mid-Columbia area of southeastern Washington State.  Founding member David Lanigan plays both Scottish Lowland bagpipes and smallpipes (bellows-blown bagpipes with three drones in a common stock), and whistles (commonly called tin or penny whistles).

Mike Day plays Irish bodhrán (frame drum played with a tipper), floor-standing bass drum, and snare cajon (wooden Afro-Celtic drum).

Their current repertoire includes traditional and original tunes from Highland and Lowland Scotland, Ireland, Cape Breton Island, Brittany, Wales, and the USA.

For more than twenty-two years, the band has kept a busy schedule performing throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana at festivals, Highland games, concerts, coffeehouses, wineries, book stores, universities, weddings, receptions, and private parties.  Skweez The Weezle’s sold-out CD “A Celtic Band” was released in May 2002, and has been well received by listeners around the world.