Tag: music

Tom Phillips has been playing his fiddle for English and American country dancing in New York since the 1970’s. He recorded two albums of contra dance music with The Fish Family, a band named in 1986 by his three-year-old daughter Talitha, with whom he has been dancing and singing since she was in utero at Pinewoods Camp. Nowadays Tom can be found playing Irish tunes in pubs, with his bodhran-beating wife Debra Given. 

Scott Elliott Ferreter, known for his duo The Feelings Parade and as a member of beloved Northern California band MaMuse, has a history of laying it all on the line. His devotion to music has him comfortable wearing many hats (songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist), although he is most at home behind the mic. His songs take on topics of ambitious depth—impermanence, healing, death, and ancestry—yet his humor and realness bring it all together with gentleness and easeful reverence. While Scott has played enormous stages like the Masonic and the Fox Theater in Oakland, he maintains an authenticity rooted in a history of playing state prisons and busking on the street. He brings a rare presence to any stage.

M’Gilvry Allen is a fiddler, producer, and teacher who has been coming to Family Week since before he was born. He’s studied fiddle for 25 years in Scottish, Irish, Old Time, and Scandinavian traditions, and has toured nationally and in Europe with several folk projects including Maya Elise & The Good Dream, and Singing The Bones. When not at camp, M’Gilvry lives in Southern Oregon, where he produces records, teaches fiddle and music production, and writes songs & tunes for the next generation. Find him at mgilvryallen.com.

Jeffrey Spero has been playing piano and singing since he was five years old. At a young age he discovered an affinity for popular music and developed his style emulating musicians like James Taylor, Elton John, and Bruce Hornsby. In his 30s, he brought his rhythmic style to American and Celtic folk and dance music and now travels around the country playing dances, concerts, and festivals with bands such as Syncopaths and Rhythm Raptors. In addition to editing and music, Jeffrey is a contra dance caller and choreographer whose dances have been enjoyed all across this country and overseas.

David James has spent many decades as a folk dance musician in Southern California, accompanying English country dance, contra dance, rapper sword dance, and Cotswold and Border morris dance. A recent retiree after a 25 year career as an elementary school music teacher, he’s spent time in symphony orchestras, pop/rock bands, and western swing bands. He’s proud and delighted to have been part of the Family Week staff since 2009, and excited to be here again to see old friends and make new ones.

Craig Johnson has been to almost every Family Week, and has also played piano and accordion for dancers since 1982. He plays for vintage and Celtic dance at SF’s Dickens Fair, performs with the Dogwatch Nautical Band, and is a regular musician for San Francisco’s Cotswold team, Goat Hill Morris. He is also a long-time director of BACDS, the programmer for the Second Saturday SF English series, and was one of the folks who helped revive the SF Contra in August 2024.

Anne Bingham Goess enjoys wearing many hats (and wreaths). Trained as a classical violinist, she immersed herself in choral singing and light opera for many years, and then fell in love with Irish fiddle at Lark Camp. These days she plays regularly for Irish, English country, contra, and family dances in the Bay Area, and wields the violin and viola with the band Erica & Friends. She has also performed since 2010 with the Midwinter Revels, including the 2024 Celtic Celebration of the Solstice.