Previous House Concerts
Wooden Nickel Productions has presented the following folks – check out their web sites below:

Leftover Dreams – Patrice Haan & Tony Marcus provide stunning harmonies with burnished accompaniment

Coco Love Alcorn – stunning

West My Friend – My favourite indie folk band

Shari Ulrich (with Julia Graff) – Amazing … in our living room

Ian Sherwood – great performer … Fun.

Alan Reid – founding member of The Battlefield Band

Big Little Lions – Juno Winners Helen Austin and Paul Otten

Eileen McGann – One of folk music’s most breathtaking voices
.
Cathy Miller -”If I had a voice like yours, I’d sing all the time!” Peter Gzowski, CBC Radio, Canada

Pied Pear – Rick Scott & Joe Mock – wildly entertaining!

Bob Evans – one man, one guitar, a world of music

Ferguson / Nicholson Duo – Roger Ferguson (guitar and mandolin) and
Mick Nicholson (acoustic, electric and uke bass) are exceptional musicians… all styles.

Sylvia Herold Trio – Featuring Sylvia’s great vocals and fine rhythm guitar, Ron Peters (lead guitar) and Chuck Ervin (bass)

Kent Fiddy with David Sinclair – singer, songwriter, Kent accompanied by string wizard, David Sinclair008

Jim and Linda McLennan – Jim is one of the finest finger-style guitarists I know.

Karen Savoca – “A rare combination of grit & sensitivity.” The Georgia Straight, Vancouver BC

Brad Prevedoros – Fine solo guitarist and tunesmith played with Niel Golden and Gregg Joy

Sylvia Herold & the Rhythm Bugs – Sylvia Herold, Ed Johnson, Jennifer Scott, Carey Black. Their recording is one if my most played in the past 15 years.

Keri Lynn Zwicker – the ‘Harp Chick’, astonishing!

Tim Williams – the man won awards for a good reason – a treat!

Colleen Eccleston – Colleen played with wonderful pianist, Karel Roessingh

Ken Whiteley – master of Blues, Roots & Gospel Music (in Calgary)

Marian Call – From Alaska on tour

Dakota Dave Hull & Sean Blackburn – (in Calgary)

Guy Van Duser & Billy Novick – outstanding musicians, who create warm
feelings while playing songs from the American Songbook.

These are a few of my favourite performers:

 Roy Forbes – www.royforbes.ca A Canadian treasure – a wonderful singer, songwriter, guitarist and performer.
He has a radio program on CKUA (Roy’s Record Room)  www.ckua.org

Shari Ulrich –  http://www.shariulrich.com/ Shari has one of the most recognizable voices on the Canadian roots music scene.  Won Junos, etc.

James Keelagha https://keelaghan.com/ To me, the successor to Stan Rogers.  Calgary raised, but now he’s in Ontario

Connie Kaldor http://www.conniekaldor.com/ Connie has the Order of Canada for her contribution to Canadian music and culture.

Ken Whiteley http://www.kenwhiteley.com/ Listening to Ken and the Original Sloth Band changed my entire musical direction

Bob Evans  http://www.bobevansguitar.com/ Bob is NOT just for guitar geeks. A great performer, singer and player.

Leftover Dreams http://www.leftoverdreams.com/ My mentor (see Tony Marcus under teachers) and Patrice Haan (wonderful singer).  Truly extraordinary!

Lindsay Ell     http://www.lindsayell.com/ A fine guitarist, song-writer.  Lindsay is worth catching.

Tracy Spring   http://www.tracyspring.com/ Washington based singer-songwriter I know from Puget Sound Guitar Workshop.  Capable of wonderful emotive performances.

Eileen McGann http://members.shaw.ca/emcgann/ A friend in Calgary; now on Vancouver Island. One of the finest traditional based singers anywhere. 

Cathy Miller   http://www.singingquilter.com/Another great voice, Cathy has written and performed songs about quilting for the past 10 years to much acclaim. But, we also love her singer-songwriter roots.

David K   http://members.shaw.ca/davidk1/ One of my favourite playing buddies.

Ken Bloom  www.bolick.net/bloom/ One of the single greatest influences on my music. Ken plays many weird instruments, and is a pleasure to hear perform. Teacher, musician, performer … all at once.

Dakota Dave Hull  http://www.dakotadavehull.com/   Great finger-style player. I first knew him through his collaboration with Sean Blackburn. They introduced me to the Western Swing repertoire.

Lennie Gallant http://lenniegallant.com/ My favorite artist from the Maritimes. East Coast Music Award winner. 

Not to be Missed:

Some of My Favourite Music Stores:
The Acoustic Guitar www.acousticguitar.net   Mike MacLeod runs my favourite music store online from his Calgary base. Truly this is the candy store for guitars, mandolins, ukuleles, basses, banjos, books, videos and accessories.

You must visit. Music Works  www.sidneymusicworks.com Sidney based music store

Guitars Plus http://www.guitarsplusvictoria.com Kurt Phillips at Guitars Plus runs a boutique specializing in guitars, amps and all things interesting to guitarists. This has become one of my favourite haunts in Victoria.


Absolutely Fabulous Luthiers:
Michael Heiden   www.heideninstruments.ca/index.php   –  a maker of fine instruments (I have 2 Heiden guitars and love them to excess) and a wonderful musician in his own right

Robert Anderson  www.robertandersonguitars.com/Home.html Victoria (BC) based luthier whose guitars are beautiful and feature french polish

Dylan Rovere www.rovereguitars.com Strikingly pretty instruments made in Victoria (BC). Dylan also does excellent repairs and maintenance – much to my satisfaction. Dylan does excellent repairs and setups and has taken over the venerable Old Town Strings … see www.facebook.com/ guitar.repair.victoria

Threet Guitars www.threetguitars.com Judy builds astonishingly beautiful instruments … with unsurpassed fit and finish.  Truly works of art.  She is also a great swing rhythm player.

Wright Guitar Technology www.soloette.com I have a steel string Soloette travel guitar with a graphite neck.
This is a wonderful instrument for hotel rooms and even playing gigs.  The graphite neck holds its tuning during travel too.

Wonderful Music Clubs:
Deep Cove Folk Club http://deepcovefolk.ca  My current ‘home club’.  Very small and
friendly.  The second Friday of every month from September through June at St. John’s Untied Church, Deep Cove BC

Highlands Folk Music https://www.highlands.ca/323/Highlands-Music-Coffee-House For info call Zhinoos at: 778-678-2409 or email zhinoos9@gmail.com

Sooke Folk Music Society http://www.sookefolkmusicsociety.com Another ‘local’ club, that has been bringing
musical entertainment to the Sooke community since 1992

Victoria Folk Club http://www.victoriafolkmusic.ca/ Victoria Folk Club.   Every Sunday night (50 weeks a year).

Jazz Vespers  https://www.stjohnsunited.net/Jazz-Celtic-Vespers-Taize
We love going to St John’s United Church in Deep Cove one Sunday evening a month to hear great jazz.  Its a lovely way to end a week here in ‘Paradise’.

The Nickelodeon   http://thenick.ca/   My heart’s home club.  I helped found it in 1980 and played in Plug Nickel (the house band).  It is still going STRONG 40+ years later.

Calgary Folk Club http://www.calgaryfolkclub.com/ Calgary’s most venerable Folk Club founded in the early 1970s

Fish Creek Concerts http://www.fishcreekconcerts.com/ My dear friend, Vic Close started this great
Folk Club in Calgary 6 years ago.

Rocky Mountain Folk Club  http://rockyfolkclub.tripod.com/   The first folk club I attended in Calgary.

Great Music Camps:
Puget Sound Guitar Workshop http://www.psgw.com/  I’ve gone about 20 times – Heaven on earth for musicians.

Foothills Acoustic Music Institute http://www.fami.ca/   Weekend camps just outside Calgary 3 times a year.
I’ve had the pleasure of being an instructor on occasion.

Festivals:
Folk ’n Fiddle Festival www.folknfiddle.ca Based on the Saanich Peninsula. Full disclosure, I am heavily involved as an organizer.

Canmore Folk Festival http://canmorefolkfestival.com/   My favourite folk festival.  I have been on stage and sound crew most of its 34 years.

Calgary Folk Festival  http://www.calgaryfolkfest.com/   Great festival, set on Princes Island in downtown Calgary.

Edmonton Folk Music Festival http://www.edmontonfolkfest.org/  The BIG Festival.

Folk West   www.folkwest.ca  Victoria’s revitalized Folk Festival.

Islands Folk Festival http://www.folkfest.bc.ca/   Cowichan Folk Guild presents the Islands Folk Festival.

Vancouver Island MusicFest http://www.islandmusicfest.com/ Amazing line-up based in Comox

Filberg Festival http://www.filbergfestival.com/ Also in Courtenay – Comox – the North Island does MUSIC!

Awe-Inspiring Music Teachers:
Don Gowan dgowan@shaw.ca  A brilliant teacher – I’m proud he’s my buddy!

Tony Marcus http://www.tuxedorecords.com/TM/index.html   Tony has encyclopaedic knowledge of the “American Songbook” and has taught many workshops and master classes.

 Also see Leftover Dreams. John Knowles C.G.P. http://www.johnknowles.com/  One of only 5 guitar players certified by Chet Atkins.
Fine player.  Great teacher.  Extremely nice man.

Mike Dowling http://www.mikedowling.com/ Mike is such a good guitar player, he makes it look simple.

Roy Berns He is also a wonderful teacher.   http://www.cis.rit.edu/people/faculty/berns/ Not just a great academic, Roy is a fine player and ‘perennial’ teacher at the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop.  A mentor for me for the past 10 years.

Artists & Artisans:
Louise Parsons www.eartharts.ca    She makes functional pottery and ceramic art masks, fabric art, stained glass, jewellery  – my spouse and the designer of this web-site

Wanda Rottenfusser   http://people.ucalgary.ca/~wcrotten/index.html One of my favourite painters – you’ll need a big wall