Ryan McKasson, Eric McDonald and Jeremiah McLane are masters of tradition who purposefully explore the dark corners floating on its edges. Their individual artistry is enhanced when together. In short, the sum creates a greater whole. The result is an alluring complexity, full of spontaneous musicality. Pulling from parallel strands of influence, they set the standard for traditional repertoire with an underlying drive and pulse charged with rhythmic electricity, culminating in a swirling level of intensity. An air of mystery and adventure pervades a sound compelling enough to transcend boundaries and appeal to music lovers of all stripes. Devon Leger of Hearth Music says, “This trio really shows how masterful musicians listen and play off each other." Kalos’ music asks to be shared live, and performance is the band’s heart and forte. Their partnership stretches beyond the music, born of fast friendships formed at the band’s origin and exhibited in their playfulness on stage, with organic banter and good humor to go along with the music. They create an environment of their own design, drawing in listeners without pretense. Despite living active musical lives thousands of miles apart these musicians have committed to working together to forge a new musical path.

“Ryan, Eric and Jeremiah create music together that is at once energetic, sublime, pensive, thought provoking and jubilant.” — Steve Behrens, 67 music

“There’s a certain spontenaity at work as the three musicians alternately contest and duel, combine and coalesce to bring their talents together.” — Tim Carroll, Folkwords.com

“The narrative power of McDonald’s vocals joins the darker riffs of McKasson’s fiddle [and McLane’s soulful accordion] for an album with pluck, depth, and good reels aplenty.” — Rachel Lynne Wilkerson, folkradio.co.uk.

Ryan McKasson (fiddle, viola, background vocals)
Ryan McKasson has gained a strong reputation as a performer, composer,collaborator and teacher. In 1994, he began attending Alasdair Fraser's Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School (VOM), which led him deep into the world of traditional music. In 1996 he became the youngest ever to win the US National Scottish Fiddle Championship and in 1997 he was awarded a Merit Scholarship for Viola Performance from the University of Southern California, where he studied with Donald McInnes. Ryan's professional career took a step forward when in 2004 he spearheaded the formation and development of "The McKassons". This group released two critically acclaimed albums, Tall Tales (2004) and Tripping Maggie (2006). Over the years Ryan has recorded with a number of influential artists, namely his playing appears on fellow Scottish fiddle champion Hanneke Cassel's three albums Silver (2006), For Reasons Unseen (2009), and Dot the Dragon's Eyes (2013), as well as Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas's recording Highlander's Farewell (2011). In addition to McKasson & McDonald, other current projects include MAC, Ensemble Galilei and The Syncopaths.

Eric McDonald (guitar, mandolin, lead vocals)
Eric McDonald found his way to traditional music through the rich local music scene in his hometown Boston. Nearly a decade after studying at Berklee College of Music under world renowned musicians such as guitarist/mandolinist John McGann and cellist Eugene Friesene, he is now established as one of the USA's premier accompanists in many styles. Eric cut his teeth playing for contra dances in New England, and can still often be seen from the dance floor. Nowadays he is an active session player, regularly recording and traveling with musicians of many stripes. Touring credits include The Outside Track, Andrea Beaton, Wendy MacIsaac and Katie McNally. In addition to McKasson & McDonald, he can currently be seen touring with the lively trio Daymark, Scottish powerhouse Cantrip, and award winning singer/songwriter Connor Garvey. In addition to guitar accompaniment, Eric's debut solo album Rove features his unique style and approach to tunes on the mandolin, as well as carefully crafted deliveries of traditional ballads on voice and guitar.

Jeremiah McLane (accordion, piano, background vocals)
Jeremiah was raised in a family with deep ties to both its Scottish heritage and its New Hampshire roots. Traditional New England music and dance were a part of his parents and grandparents generations. After an early formation in classical piano, Jeremiah spent his teenage years playing blues and jazz, studying with legend Gary Peacock in university. He then studied Indonesian Gamelan, West African drumming, and the music of minimalist composers Steve Reich and Philip Glass. It wasn’t until his mid twenties that Jeremiah began to immerse himself in the world of traditional Celtic and French music, studying accordion with Jimmy Keene and Frederic Paris. He then spent several decades traveling in Europe, doing field research that laid the groundwork for a Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory. In the early 1990s Jeremiah formed two bands: The Clayfoot Strutters and Nightingale. Both bands had strong traditional New England roots and had a deep and lasting impact on the traditional dance scene in New England. Jeremiah has recorded over a dozen CDs with Nightingale, the Clayfoot Strutters, Bob & the Trubadors, Le Bon Vent, and with Ruthie Dornfeld. His second solo recording, Smile When You’re Ready, was nominated by NPR in their “favorite picks”, and his fifth release, Hummingbird, with Ruthie Dornfeld, received the French music magazine “Trad Mag” Bravo award, as did his CD Goodnight Marc Chagall with Le Bon Vent. He has composed music for theatre and film, including Sam Shepard’s “A Lie Of The Mind”, and been awarded the Ontario Center For The Performing Arts “Meet The Composer” Award, and the Vermont Council On The Arts “Creation Of New Work” grant.

St. Mary's is pleased to welcome back the exciting and innovative duo of Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas.

The musical partnership between consummate performer Alasdair Fraser, "the Michael Jordan of Scottish fiddling", and brilliant Californian cellist Natalie Haas spans the full spectrum between intimate chamber music and ecstatic dance energy. Over the last 20 years of creating a buzz at festivals and concert halls across the world, they have truly set the standard for fiddle and cello in traditional music. They continue to thrill audiences internationally with their virtuosic playing, their near-telepathic understanding and the joyful spontaneity and sheer physical presence of their music.

Fraser has a concert and recording career spanning over 30 years, with a long list of awards, accolades, radio and television credits, and feature performances on top movie soundtracks (Last of the Mohicans, Titanic, etc.). In 2011, he was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame. Haas, a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, is one of the most sought after cellists in traditional music today. She has performed and recorded with a who's who of the fiddle world including Mark O'Connor, Natalie MacMaster, Irish supergroups Solas and Altan, Liz Carroll, Dirk Powell, Brittany Haas, Darol Anger, Jeremy Kittel, Hanneke Cassel, Laura Cortese, and many more.

This seemingly unlikely pairing of fiddle and cello is the fulfillment of a long-standing musical dream for Fraser. His search eventually led him to find a cellist who could help return the cello to its historical role at the rhythmic heart of Scottish dance music, where it stood for hundreds of years before being relegated to the orchestra. The duo's debut recording, Fire & Grace, won the coveted the Scots Trad Music "Album of the Year" award, the Scottish equivalent of a Grammy. Since its release, the two have gone on to record five more critically acclaimed albums that blend a profound understanding of the Scottish tradition with cutting-edge string explorations. In additional to performing, they both have motivated generations of string players through their teaching at fiddle camps across the globe.

"As many gigs as they must have played together over the past decade or so, there remains a striking spontaneity about Fraser and Haas's music-making. He has tonal variation and attack to spare, but what makes them so consistently absorbing is the responsiveness each shows to the other. Haas is more than a cellist: she's the rhythm section who uses the percussive chip'n'chop of her bowing and the double bass-like pulse of her pizzicato playing to great effect. The accompanist's role moves so fluently between them, building tension all the while, and then they'll slip into unison and it's like floodgates opening. "

— The Herald

"Fraser, one of the most respected of all exponents of the Scots fiddle, would look long and hard to find a more appropriate cellist as a partner...A positive joy."

— The Scotsman

The musical evolution of Old Blind Dogs began in Aberdeen in 1992 with roots that grew from the eclectic music scene that flourished in the Granite City during the early 90’s. Four musicians from very different musical backgrounds came together to create a full-time professional touring band with the aim of showcasing the rich tradition of songs and tunes of the North East of Scotland on an international stage.

Like many of the early flag bearing Scottish folk bands, the Old Blind Dogs line up has faced inevitable changes over the years but the core values at the band's musical heart continue to beat strong. The current band line up has been settled for several years now and consists of four of Scotland's finest traditional musicians at the top of their game. Original member Jonny Hardie (fiddle/vocals) is joined by Aaron Jones (cittern/guitar/vocals), Ali Hutton (pipes/whistles) and Donald Hay (percussion/vocals) and collectively they comprise one of the hottest live tickets on the traditional Scottish music scene today.

As recent inductees to the BBC ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 'Trad Music Hall of Fame' the 'Dugs' will celebrate thirty years on the road in 2022 by launching their fourteenth studio album 'Knucklehead Circus’ in Winter 2021. A joyous, uplifting and fun album full of compelling energy and intoxicating rhythm on which ‘OBD' continue to innovate within their tradition while faithfully revealing its essence. Here’s to many more years of Old Blind Dogs!

The musical evolution of Old Blind Dogs began in Aberdeen in 1992 with roots that grew from the eclectic music scene that flourished in the Granite City during the early 90’s. Four musicians from very different musical backgrounds came together to create a full-time professional touring band with the aim of showcasing the rich tradition of songs and tunes of the North East of Scotland on an international stage.

Like many of the early flag bearing Scottish folk bands, the Old Blind Dogs line up has faced inevitable changes over the years but the core values at the band's musical heart continue to beat strong. The current band line up has been settled for several years now and consists of four of Scotland's finest traditional musicians at the top of their game. Original member Jonny Hardie (fiddle/vocals) is joined by Aaron Jones (cittern/guitar/vocals), Ali Hutton (pipes/whistles) and Donald Hay (percussion/vocals) and collectively they comprise one of the hottest live tickets on the traditional Scottish music scene today.

As recent inductees to the BBC ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 'Trad Music Hall of Fame' the 'Dugs' will celebrate thirty years on the road in 2022 by launching their fourteenth studio album 'Knucklehead Circus’ in Winter 2021. A joyous, uplifting and fun album full of compelling energy and intoxicating rhythm on which ‘OBD' continue to innovate within their tradition while faithfully revealing its essence. Here’s to many more years of Old Blind Dogs!

Daimh, pronounced "Dive," Gaelic Supergroup and un-challenged champions of straight in the eye Highland music are based around West Lochaber and the Isle of Skye.

Formed around the turn of the century and taking the name from the Gaelic word for kinship, Daimh have taken their contemporary take of Highland and Gaelic music to over 20 countries, setting audiences alight from Moscow to San Francisco.

With a reputation as giants of the Bagpipes and Fiddle, Angus Mackenzie and Gabe McVarish lead the melodic powerhouse with fellow founder member Ross Martin underpinning the groove on the Guitar. The Band are joined by Murdo Cameron on Mandola and Accordion to complete the instrumental line up.

Daimh are known working with some of the finest Gaelic singers in Scotland and the current line up only serves to cement that distinction with the addition of the Gaelic firmaments most rapidly rising star, Ellen MacDonald on vocals.

A long-established favorite at folk festivals in Scotland, Ireland and across Europe, 2014 saw the group win the “Eiserner Eversteiner” European Folk Music Award in the 23nd German Folkherbst competition and also nominated for Folk Band of the Year in the Scots Trad Music Awards.

From pyrotechnic jigs and reels to achingly poignant ballads, they run the full expressive gamut of folk music at its best, and are justly renowned for their thrilling live shows. Dàimh have released 5 studio albums to date. Their most recent; Tuneship once again sees the band blazing a new trail in the Scottish music scene with their own instrumental compositions skilfully integrated with traditional Gaelic Songs

Daimh, pronounced "Dive," Gaelic Supergroup and un-challenged champions of straight in the eye Highland music are based around West Lochaber and the Isle of Skye.

Formed around the turn of the century and taking the name from the Gaelic word for kinship, Daimh have taken their contemporary take of Highland and Gaelic music to over 20 countries, setting audiences alight from Moscow to San Francisco.

With a reputation as giants of the Bagpipes and Fiddle, Angus Mackenzie and Gabe McVarish lead the melodic powerhouse with fellow founder member Ross Martin underpinning the groove on the Guitar. The Band are joined by Murdo Cameron on Mandola and Accordion to complete the instrumental line up.

Daimh are known working with some of the finest Gaelic singers in Scotland and the current line up only serves to cement that distinction with the addition of the Gaelic firmaments most rapidly rising star, Ellen MacDonald on vocals.

A long-established favorite at folk festivals in Scotland, Ireland and across Europe, 2014 saw the group win the “Eiserner Eversteiner” European Folk Music Award in the 23nd German Folkherbst competition and also nominated for Folk Band of the Year in the Scots Trad Music Awards.

From pyrotechnic jigs and reels to achingly poignant ballads, they run the full expressive gamut of folk music at its best, and are justly renowned for their thrilling live shows. Dàimh have released 5 studio albums to date. Their most recent; Tuneship once again sees the band blazing a new trail in the Scottish music scene with their own instrumental compositions skilfully integrated with traditional Gaelic Songs