Ship's Company

This jolly band of merrymakers has been seen and heard all up and down the east coast of the United States. These chanteymen perform at living history events, music festivals, private parties and many other settings.

www.shipscompany.org

Calico Jack

Calico Jack is actually the dynamic new folk duo of Janie Meneely and Paul DiBlasi. A veteran chanteyman with the colorful group, The Pyrates Royale, DiBlasi can send his mellow baritone over the deck and back. He brings a vast repertoire of classic work songs to the group along with a flair for the guitar. Singer/songwriter Janie Meneely (whose own soprano voice, she says, "carries pretty well") has shared the stage with Them Eastport Oyster Boys and, before that, Crab Alley. Her nautically inspired tunes have been recorded by artists throughout the country. Her own solo CD, Give Me a River, released in 2001, comprises a dozen delightful original songs and ballads that range from the haunting love song, "Red Sky,” to the titillating and hilarious "Twiddles," all inspired by a lifetime spent on the Chesapeake Bay.

“Together, Janie and Paul are sheer delight,” says Annapolis Maritime Museum Director Jeff Holland. “Sometimes sober, sometimes saucy, they slide easily between old and new. Janie's strong regional roots have led her to develop a hefty list of Bay-inspired songs, but her ditties are just as apt to poke fun at time-honored traditions. Paul's mastery of classic sea chanteys will have an audience singing along in no time. Their voices blend together beautifully.”

Ida from NYC

It's not every band that can sustain a decade-long career on some of the most influential independent labels, go through countless lineup changes, and continue to improve upon their past work by creating gorgeous, heartbreaking music of the highest order. Then again, it's not every band that can stun an audience into silence with its mesmerizing violin and piano creations before rocking out. But Ida have always stood out for their beauty and simplicity, keying in on the voices of principal players Elizabeth Mitchell and Dan Littleton, and slowly growing with each album to include bass player Karla Schickele, and now, drummer Ruth Keating and violinist Jean Cook. Each step has led to a fuller sound, yet has retained the tender simplicity of their earliest work.

The Scurvy Crew

The Scurvy Crew is a traditional maritime musical group specializing in sea chanteys and the music of Scots Irish and English heritage. Their mission is to promote the preservation of our maritime cultural history through music and theatre. The company features teenagers 14-18 years old who present themselves in 18th century traditional garb as they entertain and delight audiences of all ages. They are accompanied by adult mentors who act as guides and confidantes. Each company member has developed an authentic period character and biography to depict their position aboard ship. Their repertoire includes stories, jokes, and music spanning the centuries of sailing. All songs are performed a cappella or are accompanied by traditional instruments found aboard ship or in port such as fiddle, guitar, penny whistle, bodhran (Irish drum), dumbek (middle eastern drum), harmonica and various hand percussions.

Them Eastport Oyster Boys

For the past decade, Them Eastport Oyster Boys, the duo of Jefferson Holland and Kevin Brooks has been delighting audiences throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed with their irrepressible brand of humorous tunes inspired by living in a community where the best things in life are a “good hat, a good dog and a good boat.” Their original songs, all inspired by the Bay, swing from island rhythms to “Country/Western Shore,” some poking fun at stink-potters, others paying homage to the plight of the waterman. This performance marks the 15th year that these talented fellows have performed on Woodwind for our weekly music cruise.

www.oysterboys.com

Steve Keith

A singer, songwriter and superb musician who draws deeply from both traditional and popular music, Steve Keith performs in concert and club settings throughout the country. He blends authentic bluegrass with familiar Irish folk songs, sea shanties, country and western, and outstanding originals in live performances that invite audiences to let loose, stomp their feet and sing along. Steve's own songs are full of humor and sensitivity, expressing his unique take on the people and places that he encounters in his quixotic travels aboard Rocinante, a 40-foot sailboat that he skippers up and down the Atlantic coast. A fine guitarist, fiddler and banjo player, Steve has won many awards as a performer, educator and entertainer.

www.stevekeith.com

J.D. Thompson

Like just about every songwriter, Joe Thompson draws inspiration from everyday sources: leftover tuna casserole, hiccups and pirates that lurk in the bathroom. Well, maybe not every songwriter.

www.imaginesongs.com

Don Shappelle

Don Shappelle, singer/songwriter from the Susquehanna rivershed, sings songs inspired by the beauty and history of the Susquehanna and the people, boats, and places of the mighty river that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. “Listening to him singing from aboard a traditional Chesapeake Bay workboat is an especially appropriate setting for his body of work,” said Annapolis Maritime Museum Director Jeff Holland.

William Pint & Felicia Dale

That's right, maritime music, nautical music - the music of the sea. Whether they be contemporary songs with the sea as a theme or shanties, (or chanties, if you prefer) the traditional work songs sung aboard the tall ships to organize the labor of the crew. Those crews were English, Irish, German, French, from the West Indies, The United States and other sea going nations, but the music itself was inspired by the oceans that link all these places together and cover two thirds of our planet. We take all of this as a source of inspiration for our music - giving it our own spin with guitar, hurdy-gurdy, mandolin and other exotic sounds. The result is an unusually energetic and exciting approach to folk music.

We have a tremendously good time playing this music and hope that you will enjoy listening and participating in it either at a live performance or through our recordings.

Deanna Dove

Deanna Dove has been entertaining all her life. She was born on the Patuxent River on Broomes Island, Maryland. When this little girl wasn't listening to music, she was crabbing or fishing on the river and the adjacent Chesapeake Bay. At an early age, Deanna and her sisters formed the Dove Sisters Trio, singing popular southern gospel hymns. Her lifelong experiences on the Chesapeake Bay contribute to her compositional writing style. Her powerful, earthy vocal style earned her the accolade of “musical Nirvana” during a 1998 review of her band, “Deanna Dove & Blues Power.” Dove’s solo debut CD entitled Chesapeake was released in May 2003. The title track, “Chesapeake” is currently the theme song for the “Voices of the Chesapeake Bay,” a Sunday morning radio program on WRNR 103.1, and has recently been released on the 2005 compilation disc entitled, Songs of the Chesapeake Bay.

http://www.deannadove.com/

Tom Mc Hugh

“Banjo Man” Tom McHugh, Tom Anthony, Bill Matthews and Andrew McCown pack a powerful punch when they present a performance of Chesapeake Scenes, a mixture of songs, story and recitation about the vanishing traditions of the Bay. McHugh, founder of The Mainstay, in Rock Hall, Md., has been on the local music scene for about 15 years now, when he returned to Chestertown after a stint as a professor at Vassar College. Rooted in folk tradition, his songs come straight from the heart and describe people and places that are passing away. Anthony adds bass, Matthews adds guitar and McCown adds poetry with a mellow and sensitive voice that captures the language of the Eastern Shoremen, including their laughter and their tears. McHugh will be performing solo for the Thursday Woodwind concert.

Caryl Weiss

Caryl is a diverse performer who has played 36 instruments in a variety of musical genres. She is a well respected traditional performer and has specialized in the art of sea shanty. She has performed on our boat for many years and wrote the original song "She's the Woodwind".

www.carylpweiss.com

Letter of Marque

Letter of Marque formed as a happy accident during the summer of 2006. We're in the Baltimore-Washington area, and as friends, we share a passion for maritime history and the music that comes out of that heritage. One coincidental occasion brought us together as individuals to sing - unrehearsed (yikes!) - for a party. Though not perfect, we had one of those rare moments of synchronicity. Thus, we decided to take that special moment and make it intentional. Unbeknownst to him, one of the party guests even gave us our name!

www.letterofmarque.org

Bob Zentz
Bob Zentz began performing professionally in his native Norfolk, Virginia, in 1962, in "The Troubadours," with James Lee Stanley.  In his college years, Bob was a founding member of The College of William & Mary's "Minutemen" singers from 1962-64, and president of the Old Dominion College Folk Music Society from 1965-66.

Over the years, Bob participated in many folk ventures, near and far.  He began teaching folk music classes in Old Dominion University’s Rainbow Program in 1971;  he created and ran the "Old Dominion Folk Festival" from 1972-81;  and became a fixture at the Virginia State Fair beginning in 1980, appearing for his 27th year consecutive year as resident performer in the Heritage Village in September 2008.  He appeared on PBS's long-running program "A Prairie Home Companion" in 1982, and crewed and performed aboard Pete Seeger's Hudson River sloop "Clearwater," repairing the Hudson River and spreading the word about preserving our waterways, from 1989-91.  Bob's recording of his composition, "Horizons," was selected to be on a tribute to environmental author and pioneer Rachel Carson on the centenary of her birth, entitled "Songs for the Earth."

Mike & Kelly Lange

Mike Lange is a piano player/singer/songwriter/bandleader who has played thousands of gigs in the mid-Atlantic and a handful overseas during the past two decades. Over the years he has performed with many of the top bands in the Baltimore/Washington area both as a bandleader, member, and as a highly sought after freelance musician. His original music has been featured on numerous radio stations in the mid-Atlantic area including WRNR, WPFW, WTMD, and WHFS as well as many independent radio stations overseas. He is perhaps best known for the group Mike Lange & Boogie Express.

Mike started out in Baltimore specializing in blues piano and later branched out into boogie woogie, swing, rock'n'roll, and more recently Caribbean music.

Since moving to Annapolis , MD , Mike also performs frequently with some of Annapolis ' best known bands including Them Eastport Oyster Boys and The Tiki Barbarians. http://www.mikelangemusic.com/index.htm