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Izaak Opaz

Like many of his favorite songwriters (John Hartford, Lucinda Williams, Jeff Tweedy), Izaak Opatz is an ungulate in life’s winter pasture, chewing on and metabolizing disappointment, heartbreak, and the other tough stuff into enjoyable musical carbohydrates. A compulsive metaphorager (and inveterate wordplayboy), Opatz breaks it all down with enzymes of wry humor, thoughtful simile and close observation – a therapeutic process of narrativizing his own life that, almost as a byproduct, turns out savory nuggets of literate, confessional pop.

Izaak has been to Longstaff House before and we are pleased that he has returned and brought his friend Devin Champlin with him.

Devin Champlin

“Why does Devin Champlin so badly want to be emptied? To ditch his brain and keep his head?
The man who can kickflip an over-easy without breaking the yolk. The guy who puts a fiddle in his elbow and a guitar on his chin. The dude that can catch and release a whale from a park bench. The one that stares off places. Emptied? Yes, emptied. But only to be fulfilled anew. You see, that’s the Champlin way. Willing, and wanting, to change. To turn your outsides to your insides and be filled with something else. Marbles. Smoke. And someone like that never gets bored. Someone like that remains filled with a wonder most of us lost with our baby teeth. Someone like that…is the Champ.”                                                                                                              – Chris Acker, from the liner notes, How To Change From Blue To Green

Friend of Longstaff and Fiddle Camp, Miles Zurawell will be sitting in on dobro.

Zachary Lucky (born January 4, 1989) is a Canadian songwriter, folk and Country artist based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He is the grandson of Canadian country music legend Smilin Johnny Lucky.

Prior to starting his solo career in 2009, Lucky was a member of pop bands Tuxedo Mask and We Were Lovers.^[1] Lucky has made a name for himself as one of the hardest working singer songwriters to come out of Saskatchewan in recent years^[2] – often booking long, and potentially gruelling tours.^[3].

To date Lucky has nine releases: three EPs and six full length albums Come and Gone,^[4] Saskatchewan,^[5] The Ballad of Losing You^[6] and Everywhere a Man Can Be.^[7]

It’s Caleb and Reeb, what more do I have to say?

Be sure and read these bios, theese folks are crazy good, 11 world championships??

Biographies
Trio
Eimear, Brian and David have been playing together in various ensembles and shows for the last
number of years throughout the USA. All three are principal musicians with the acclaimed show
An Irish Rambling House. Eimear and David’s vocals meld beautifully together, while the
powerful combination of fiddle and uilleann pipes will be sure to have your feet tapping!
Eimear Arkins
Eimear Arkins comes from a small village on the west coast of Ireland called Ruan, in County
Clare. She is an award winning musician, singer and dancer with eleven solo Fleadh Cheoil na
hÉireann (World Irish Music Championships) titles to her credit. Eimear has toured throughout
the US, Ireland and beyond with acclaimed bands like Cherish The Ladies, Téada, The Paul
Brock Band, and Tomaseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas. She is regularly seen performing with
harp player and St Louis native, Eileen Gannon. Eimear has also toured extensively with the
international music organization Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann on concert tours throughout
Ireland, Britain, North America and Canada and with the internationally renowned show Brú
Ború. Eimear was part of the troupe that represented Ireland at World Expo 2010 in Shanghai
and in August 2015, she traveled to World Expo in Milan with St. Louis Irish Arts where she
promoted not only Irish culture but the expression of Irish culture worldwide. Eimear is a
qualified Irish music and dance instructor and has performed and given workshops at festivals all
over the world including Féile Séamus Creagh, Newfoundland; Catskills Irish Arts Week;
Viljandi Pärimusmuusika Festival, Estonia; St Louis Tionól; Canadian Celtic Celebration, and
Festival Interceltique de Lorient, France. In June 2018 she released her debut album, What’s
Next? and was awarded “Best Newcomer” from LiveIreland in 2019. In January 2020, Eimear
was awarded an Artist Fellowship from the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis. Eimear is
excited for the release of her second album in 2023 which will feature collaborations with David
McKindley Ward, Eileen Gannon, Alan Murray and Kevin Buckley.
www.eimeararkins.com
www.facebook.com/eimeararkinsmusic

Brian Bigley
Brian Bigley comes from a musical family on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio where he first
heard the ethereal sound of the Uilleann Pipes at the West Side Irish American Club. Soon after,
at the age of eight, he began studying with Achill Island piper Michael Kilbane. Since then,
Brian’s sensitivity to the art of Uilleann Piping has developed into a high level of understanding
with the help of his family and the countless musicians that have crossed his path.

His interest in maintaining that ethereal sound led Brian to study the art of pipe making with the
prolific pipe maker Seth Gallagher in New York and the master flute maker Patrick Olwell in
Virginia. He is currently making pipes in the style of the late Dave Williams and has a waiting
list.
Brian is also a world-class Irish step dancer. Studying with Bob Masterson and Catherine
Leneghan from age seven, he went on to compete with distinction at the World Championships
in Glasgow and Killarney.
He has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe as a piper, flute player, whistle
player, and dancer with various music and dance shows including “Tomáseen Foley’s A Celtic
Christmas” (www.ACelticChristmas.com) which has appeared at the Medina Performing Arts
Center in Medina, Ohio multiple times. He was a guest artist with the Contemporary Youth
Orchestra (www.cyorcherstra.org) in Cleveland where they performed “Symphonic Led
Zeppelin” at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2002) and the Masonic Auditorium (2007). He has
also had the privilege of performing at Carnegie Hall in New York with the Chieftains as well as
appearing on stage with legendary piper Paddy Keenan. The fall of 2007 included a tour with
Orange County Irish rock band “The Fenians” as well as appearing at the Milwaukee Irish Fest
with the Trinity Irish Dancers. In March of 2016, Brian was a featured dancer and musician with
The Omaha Symphony’s production of “Celtic Journey” (www.celticjourney.org), a symphonic
presentation of traditional Irish music, dance, and storytelling.
www.brianbigleymusic.com
David McKindley-Ward
Award winning musician and singer, David McKindley-Ward, grew up in the DC area steeped in
folk, American and old time music. His traditional singing style and versatile accompaniment
skills meant a transition to Irish music was a great fit. David has collaborated with Irish singers
and instrumentalists alike including Billy McComiskey; Eimear Arkins; Liz Hanley; and Joey
Abarta and Brenda Castles as The Sheep Stealers. He has recorded a number of albums with long
time friend and songwriter Letitia VanSant. Over the last few years, he has made a name for
himself as a touring artist across the US, Ireland and the UK and a regular performer and tutor at
festivals including Catskills Irish Arts Week, Baltimore TradFest and The Philadelphia Céilí
Group. He recently moved to the Boston area and has found a musical home amongst the fine
traditional Irish musicians based there.
www.davidmckindley-ward.com
Videos:
Eimear Arkins & David McKindley-Ward – Dobbin’s Flowery Vale

Eimear Arkins & David McKindley-Ward – The Night Visiting Song
Eimear Arkins, Brian Bigley & William Coulter – Arkins, Bigley, Coulter
David McKindley-Ward – Farewell to the Gold

Check these guys out.  I am excited for this show.

THE SWEET REMAINS is the very rare all-independent band to have nearly 60 MILLION SPOTIFY streams and counting!  They’re also unusual on today’s music scene as a band headed by 3 gifted singer-songwriters, each of whom contribute to the writing and 3-part harmonies that define the band’s sound.

Driven by strong lyrical and melodic writing, their songs easily appeal to fans of modern folk-rockers like Jason Mraz, Ray Lamontagne, and John Mayer. However, it is their lush harmonies, that distinguish tSR from the throngs of guitar-toting troubadors and harken back to super-groups of the 60’s and 70’s like CSN, the Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel.

In Feb 2020, the band released its 5th major release (and 4th Studio album), MUSIC FILLS THE SPACES.  Another collaboration with grammy-winning producer and long-time associate, ANDY ZULLA.

In March 2021, the band added another unique accomplishment with the release of their FEATURE FILM, THE INDEPENDENTS.  Written/Directed by band-member, Greg Naughton, and starring the band, THE INDEPENDENTS is a musical comedy-drama inspired by the band’s real-life experiences (and music, of course!).  The film debuted at the Santa Barbara Int’l Film Festival earning praise from The Hollywood Reporter who hailed it “An extremely engaging film… Unconventional and sharply written… Deserves to find an audience beyond the festival circuit.”  It next won “Best Feature Film” at the Omaha Film festival and has since won audiences and plaudits at great film festivals all over the U.S. (More film info here).

When RICH PRICE (Burlington, VT) – www.richpricemusic.com), GREG NAUGHTON (NYC), and BRIAN CHARTRAND (Phoenix, AZ – www.brianchartrand.com) met for a chance jam-session in a Rhode Island hotel room in 2007, the three instantly recognized a musical blend and kinship that would eventually overcome geography (and solo-careers) to form The Sweet Remains.