MIKE FREEMAN
Mike Freeman's roots are in Eastern Europe, with grandparents from Russia, Roumania and Hungary. Born and raised in Manchester, England, he spent many years in Norwich working as a designer, cabinet maker and teacher before moving to County Kilkenny, Ireland. He has played guitar and percussion with an assortment of bands, accompanied Middle Eastern and African dance troupes, performed at countless festivals throughout Britain, and featured on recordings in the roles of musician, arranger and producer. Mike's main instrument is the Gambian djembe, from which he draws an amazing variety of sounds, but he plays everything from dholak and darabouka to bones, bodhran and congas, and composes tunes on guitar and mandolin.

Mike has also built a reputation on both sides of the Atlantic as a dance caller and concert M.C., with a charming, irreverent stage presence.

(photo by Annette Brigham)

TANIA OPLAND
Originally from Alaska, Tania Opland has travelled extensively in the U.S., Canada, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Britain. She now lives on an Indian reservation in Washington State, her vast repertoire reflecting the diversity of the communities whose music she has shared. She has appeared on radio and television in the U.S., Canada, Russia, Uzbekistan, Scotland, Ireland and England. Her five solo albums have received excellent reviews in acoustic music magazines on both sides of the Atlantic.

From early classical training on piano, cello and violin, Tania moved on to explore many different fiddle styles and a wide range of wind instruments, and even to experiment with such exotic instruments as chang, gidjak and doira, giving her a style rich in techniques and traditions. She still treasures the unusual blond violin, a handmade instrument by Eskimo craftsman Frank Hobson, which she has played since she was nine years old, but has recently switched to a c.1920 German violin converted to five-string for concert work. Other instruments include an early handmade Larrivee guitar, Flatiron octave mandolin, hammered dulcimer by Dusty Strings, Kiowa Native American flutes by Allan Guffey and Stellar Flutes, and a tiny ocarina by Clayzeness Whistleworks.

Tania's voice has been described as "smooth, powerful and tremendously versatile", and she sings in about a dozen different languages.

READ OUR REVIEWS

The Lemon Tree Arts Centre, Aberdeen, Scotland

Emerson Cultural Center, Bozeman, Montana

The Lincoln Theater, Mount Vernon, Washington

Trinity Arts Centre, Gainsborough, England

The Moore Theater, Seattle, Washington

Castalia Hall, Ballytobin, Co Kilkenny, Ireland

The Crystal Theater, Missoula, Montana

Tryworks Coffeehouse, New Bedford, Massachusetts

The Albert Hole, Bristol, England

Washington Arts Centre, Tyne & Wear, England

Allied Arts Festival, Yakima, Washington

Orkney Folk Festival, Orkney and Papa Westray, Scotland

Alcester Folk Festival, Alcester, England

Warrenville Folk Festival, Illinois

Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts, Port Angeles, Washington

International Festival of the Sea/Trafalgar 200, England

Bude Folk Festival, Cornwall

Cyrano's Playhouse, Anchorage, Alaska

Caistor Hall, Norwich, England

Heckscher Park, Huntington, Long Island