Guitarist and singer Stash Wyslouch is this week's featured guest. He talks with Neil about his eclectic musical journey, from the Colombian music his mother played for him growing up, to his love of heavy metal, to diving deep into old-school bluegrass and old-time recordings and finally ending up with an amalgamation of all of it in his own band. Along the way, Stash and Neil find common ground in their drive to create music that comes from their various disparate influences and Stash explains how he could only make the music he wanted to after he learned not to care so much. 

One of New England's finest guitarists, Owen Marshall joins Neil to talk about teaching himself Irish guitar while being homeschooled in Vermont, and all the places music has taken him, from local community contradances to jamming with Tuvan throat singers at a festival in Belgium. 

Greg Boardman is the founder of Maine Fiddle Camp and a captivating performer and teacher whose influence on traditional music in Maine cannot be overstated. For the twentieth episode of TradCafe, Neil and Greg met in the Trinity Church of Lewiston, Maine to talk about the search for personal identity through music, how musicians are uniquely suited to build community and Greg's cross-cultural explorations with the Somali immigrant community in town.

Quebecois guitarist and singer Yann Falquet (of the band Genticorum) joins Neil for this week's episode. In this wide ranging conversation they talk about Yann's discovery of the guitar through Rush, the similarities between Irish and Quebecois traditions, the best dumpling houses in Montreal and more! 

[Note: We apologize for background noise, technical difficulties from a still young podcast!] 

A major force in the New England music scene, Jeremiah McLane has had a significant influence on sound of contemporary folk music in the Northeast, from contradance bands to performing artists. In this episode, Neil and Jeremiah find a lot of common ground in their experiences as pianists who come to folk music with a Jazz informed perspective. Jeremiah reflects what drew him to focus on the accordion and how his creative goals have continued to shift with each new project. 

(Music credits: Sound of Sleat [Scottish pipe tune, played before conversation] and La Violette de Méne [Breton dance tune, played after conversation])