Meet the Musicians
Meet the line up of Wiscasset Schoonerfest Musicians
Castlebay
Songs of Ships, Sailors & the Sea. Traditional and original songs of Maine accompanied by Celtic harp, 12-string guitar, fiddle, and Irish flute. Castlebay is well known for their stunning vocals and well-crafted accompaniments. They have toured the eastern seaboard from Cape Breton to Florida, Scotland, England, Ireland — even Kosovo — and appeared at numerous maritime festivals over the last twenty-five years.
The Oystermen
The Oystermen — Carter Newell on fiddle, Smokey McKeen on accordion and guitar, and Eric Rolfson on bass and mandolin—are a maritime traditional group.These guys are a rare find anywhere and are the real thing—they harvest oysters from the Damariscotta River, and they sing sea songs and reels and perform for contradances on the midcoast. Come hear a legendary performance—AND enjoy fresh oysters shucked right next to the pier stage while they sing!
Scotti River Trio
Scotti River Trio creates an entrancing blend of acoustic-based music. Their vocal talents have been compared to Crosby, Stills and Nash, and their instrumental capability has become renowned throughout New England. Sit back, close your eyes, and let your ears carry you home to a simpler time.
Pan Fried Steel
Pan Fried Steel is a steel drum band based in Yarmouth, Maine that has been entertaining audiences in concert and at events in the Northeast since 2000. Director Ian Ramsey is the Chair of Visual and Performing Arts at North Yarmouth Academy, and is still trying to get used to being a rock star. Come hear the iconic sound of the Caribbean reverb on the Sheepscot for an adventure in pure white sand and blue waves.
Married with Chitlins
Married with Chitlins is an acoustic music duo that performs Traditional American music, Old Time Country and Blues, some Jazz standards and Celtic reels and jigs—mainly guitar and fiddle with a strong female lead vocal with harmonies. They make your feet dance ... and let your feet take you along for the ride!
Oyster Creek Fiddlers
The Oyster Creek Fiddlers, students of Damariscotta’s Kaity Newell, were formed over 20 years ago and have been playing for community events and barn dances across mid-coast Maine ever since. The group is constantly evolving as young fiddlers grow up and head out into the world with their music. Some of the original Oyster Creek Fiddlers are enjoying illustrious fiddling careers. Famous alumni include Julia Plumb, Alden Robinson, and Maisie Newell. The Oyster Creek Fiddlers' repertoire is rooted in the fiddling tradition of Maine and the Maritimes with elements of Scots-Irish, Quebecois, and Scandinavian. The Oyster Creek Fiddlers have released one album and are working on a second.
Saltwater Hillbilly
THE SALTWATER HILLBILLY has become one of the busiest performers in Maine. He's Tropical Breezes and Big Western Skies. He’s a Hawaiian Cowboy. He’s a Yodeling Rasta. He’s Bob Marley meets Slim Whitman. He’s Don Ho meets Gene Autry. He’s Elvis meets Jimmy Buffet singing songs from the 1920's through last week. RANGER D is his sidekick and alter ego, with an amazing repertoire of what you might (and might not) expect. Both shows are a must see—these guys are sold out all over the state!
Jerry Bryant
Jerry Bryant is a singer, entertainer, and independent folk scholar focused on curating great songs from the past 500 years of American, Irish, and British traditions. His repertoire includes hundreds of traditional and contemporary folk songs, with a special emphasis on the musical artifacts of maritime culture. Accompanying himself on concertina, guitar, banjo, ukulele, and bones (not all at the same time), he presents old and new songs that open windows on the human experience. By researching the music he is able to add historical insights to his performances. This has also provided him with subjects for making new songs, in the spirit of the tradition. It is a special privilege to have this Chantey Master as our star performer Saturday and Sunday of the 2021 Wiscasset Schoonerfest.
Dave Peloquin
A longtime professional musician, chanteyer and performer at the Mystic Seaport Sea Music Festival (Mystic, Connecticut), Dave Peloquin of Windsor, Maine has performed for over 40 years singing songs of the sea. A high-caliber musician well-known across New England and Europe, Dave has also researched and released a cd of early country western songs with fellow Mainer Bob Webb (Phippsburg).
Salty Dogs
The Salty Dogs Band is a homegrown Wiscasset classic rock group that brings down the house every time—and most recently fired up the crowd at the outdoor stage as headliners for the 2021 Summer Concerts on the Common. The original band was formed by a group that got together at the Wiscasset Yacht Club years ago to play for a fun occasion at the club ... and then requests started coming in to play other gigs. When they were asked what the band name was, Ray Dallaire looked out in the harbor and took the name off of the closest boat—the Salty Dog. Today, Debbie, Ray, Bert and Allan are crowd pleasers with just the right chemistry and an astonishing repertoire of tunes from the 50s to the 2000s.
Paula Daddio
Paula Daddio discovered Sea Chanteys 30 years ago when she started a trio, Shipping News with Gina Dunlap and Eric Yuhas. Chanteys were later incorporated into a sail training program aboard the schooner Victory Chimes led by Daddio, then a science teacher at the Sound School Regional Aquaculture Center in New Haven CT. Teenagers on this trip brought the chanteys back to school which influenced the start of a team-taught Martime Culture class and a 20-year after-school chantey program called the SS Chanteens. Daddio lead this program until retirement in 2019 bringing songs and history of the sea to schools, museums and festivals throughout New England. She joins us for this new festival—Wiscasset Schoonerfest— as she disembarks a 4-day Irish Music cruise on the Victory Chimes, bringing the Irish-influenced music of the sea.... to sea.
Jud Caswell
Jud Caswell is a master multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, banjo, cittern and whistles. His interpretations of songs from modern acoustic to traditional folk and Irish are done with precision and care, but it’s his songwriting that puts him in a category all his own. Jud’s originals have won some of the most prestigious songwriting contests in the country. They’ve been recorded by Judy Collins, listed among the top 10 songs of the decade by New York’s WFUV radio, and been taught in the songwriting curriculum at Berklee College of Music. Jud’s latest record, “Live at the Seagull Shop” was the number one album for March 2020 on the Folk Alliance Radio charts. Jud makes his home in Topsham, Maine, where he runs Frog Hollow Recording Studio. www.judcaswell.com
