Janice Hanson, Author at Canis Major Music

Canis Major Music was Well Represented at 2026 Old Songs Festival

Janice Hanson — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 17:10:56 +0000

By Janice Hanson

The 2026 Old Songs Festival was certainly one for the books! I have been attending this festival – held the last weekend of June at the Altamont Fairgrounds near Albany NY – for more than 25 years and it’s always a real treat to hear the variety of musicians represented. This year’s festival had an added bonus of having just picture-perfect weather, sunny and not too hot. We camp on site with friends and have had many a year when it was pouring rain, or super-hot (and then there’s the year the tent broke…).

I am relatively new at Canis Major Music (helping Danielle Devlin with artist support, social media, and PR), and it was great to be able to hear so many CMM artists in one place! Cantrip, Andrew Wells-Oberegger, Skye Consort & Emma Björling, and Windborne all performed sets on the Main Stage and participated in workshops. Plus, Seán Dagher from Skye Consort led a sea chantey sing on Friday afternoon, plus a second chantey sing on Saturday with Chris Koldewey. See photos below.

Danielle serves as emcee

Danielle took on a new role this year at the festival – sharing the emcee responsibilities at the Main Stage on Friday night with John Kirk. She told me that she was a little bit nervous since she had only been to Old Songs once before. In the end, she said, “I had a blast! All the lovely folks backstage helping to stage manage made for a great experience – what a well-oiled, and uber-friendly machine! The sound techs were all amazing as well.”

Daytime workshops at Old Songs

One of the really special things about Old Songs is the daytime workshops, where various performers are grouped together for round-robin sessions on a particular topic. There are 10 different stages during the day for concerts, workshops, dances, jam sessions, and family activities.

Skye Consort teamed up with the Cape Verde musician Lutchinha and her band for a workshop called “Global Language.” For another workshop called “World Music Stew,” Skye Consort and Andrew Wells-Oberegger and his band shared the stage (and a nyckelharpa player), along with Maria Zemantauski, one of the world’s few female flamenco-style guitarists.

Over the course of the weekend, the Scots/Celtic trio Cantrip took part in workshops on topics ranging from “Norse-Gaelic Expansion,” “Keeping It Celtic,” and “What a Great Tune” to the more pertinent question, “But Can You Dance to it?” They shared a workshop with the innovative quartet Medusa, and both groups will be at New World Festival in Randolph, VT on September 6 – might be time for some more magic!

The quartet Windborne (Lauren Breunig, Jeremy Carter-Gordon, Lynn Rowan, and Will Rowan) were part of several round-robin sessions that got the audience singing along, including “Raising Consciousness,” “Just Voices,” and a Community Sing with Reggie Harris. The group showed their flexibility by pulling out some of their trio repertoire when Lynn lost her voice at the beginning of the weekend, which meant we all got to hear some of their songs they don’t perform as often arranged for three-part harmony. Lynn joined in on foot percussion during one workshop – and luckily by Sunday night was able to sing for their Main Stage set.

The Old Songs trifecta

So many memorable moments over the course of this wonderful weekend – and I haven’t even mentioned all the dancing going on at the dance stage. I stayed up late on Friday night after the Main Stage concerts and completed the trifecta – contra dancing until midnight, then joining in the singing session in the Dutch Barn, and finally listening to the Old Time Jam. I got plenty of steps walking from stage to stage along with all the dancing! Plus, it was great to catch up with some old friends over the course of the weekend.

Festival finale

The festival ended on Sunday night with a concert by Joe Jencks. For his song “Lady of the Harbor” (which Windborne has also recorded), he was joined on stage by more than a dozen musicians. A fitting end to a weekend full of music and community!

P.S. Use this link to watch a video of Lauren and Jeremy from Windborne dancing to music of the Skye Consort on the Main Stage. What a cool way for CMM artists to connect!

Old Songs Festival 2026 Photo Album

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Canis Major Music Updates – Trips to Sweden, New England, and More to Come…

Janice Hanson — Wed, 27 May 2026 20:43:27 +0000

A Q&A with Danielle Devlin, owner and agent-manager of the boutique music agency Canis Major Music LLC

Question: It’s been a long time since you’ve posted on this blog or on social media. But it seems like you’ve been plenty busy. What’s the latest going on at Canis Major Music?

Answer: I’ve certainly been quite busy booking performances for artists on my roster, but I recently forced myself to take a break away from my full days on the laptop and did some traveling.

In early April, I traveled to Malmö, Sweden for Nordic Folk Alliance – a regional sister conference to Folk Alliance International. It was an amazing place to be – scrumptious cardamom buns and delicious coffee on most streets, super friendly people, beautiful and colorful fashion – and fantastic music! ALL of the music I heard was outstanding – completely Nordic yet all strikingly different. I was in awe continuously and enjoyed many blissful moments with my colleagues completely wrapped up in the music.

The setting was fabulous and I made several new friends (and was surprised to see several I already knew there!).

Here is a picture of one of my favorite Nordic folk people – Fredy Clue on nyckelharpa, joined by Julia Bengtson on fiddle and vocals. Fredy and I met at WOMEX several years ago and became fast friends there. One of the loveliest humans I’ve ever met.

Q: What are you doing to stay connected with the venues you work with?

A: The last week in April I took four days to hit the road in the northeastern US to visit presenters and venues I haven’t seen in quite a while – or ever!

I started my journey visiting Bloom Events in Portland, Maine (and enjoyed a coffee meeting with highly esteemed Scottish fiddler, Katie McNally). From there I made a stop in Portsmouth, NH to see The Music Hall and have lunch at The Friendly Toast (the original ;), before landing that evening in Cambridge, MA to FINALLY visit the renowned folk venue, Club Passim!!

This place is indescribably awesome – the community feeling is palpable (I hugged so many folks lol!). And area venues/presenters support each other in this highly condensed music market, too – here’s a photo of me with Abby Altman, Manager of Passim, with Lindsay O’Donovan from The Burren (another great Boston-area venue). What an unexpected treat to meet Lindsay for the first time!

Q: Did you hear some live concerts while traveling in New England?

A: Yes! The music that night at Passim was the inimitable duo of Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas on their farewell tour as they are about to embark on different projects and no longer performing together as a duo. I stayed for both shows. It was over in a flash.

Here’s a clip of the magical evening at Club Passim:
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DXtvL4yE4CZ/

From there, it was on to see Alasdair and Natalie again in West Whately, MA, at Watermelon Wednesdays, a series curated and hosted by the gentlemanly and generous Paul Newlin, who made us all a lovely dinner before the show.

From here onwards, it was a long, friendly, and fruitful visit with my friend Cassandra Holden with BOMBYX Center for Arts & Equity in Florence, MA. This is a gem of an organization with such a strong and varied community focus, home still to two active religions denominations, a daycare facility, and producing concerts, soundbaths, lectures, and more for folks from around the world. The acoustics and lighting in this venue are phenomenal and were purpose-designed from the start for world class listening experiences. https://bombyx.live/about/ to learn more.

Lastly, it was a quick tour of the Irish American Heritage Museum in Albany, NY, including lunch with the ever-entertaining and brilliant director, Michael Clarke. He has an accordion and he’s not afraid to use it, folks! This museum hosts a remarkable 60-seat theatre converted from a planetarium! It’s a wonderful place to experience intimate concerts, lectures, and other live performances.

Q: What was the motivation for making this trip?

A: The impetus for these visits was partly to say adieu to the duo of Alasdair and Natalie, whom I’ve been following intently for more than 20 years now. It all began with the NH Highland Games … and I now have the honor of working with Alasdair Fraser under the banner of Canis Major Music, with gratitude to Mike Green & Associates for the handoff on Mike’s retirement as a booking agent.

I have so much gratitude to the venues and presenters who continue to support live music by booking our artists. And of course to all the wonderful musicians… I thank everyone for their kind visits, for hosting me, and for keeping the music flowing. Live performance is *vital* to our humanity.

Q: What’s on the docket for the coming months?

A: The next big event I’m doing is the Old Songs Festival in Altamont, NY (near Albany), June 26-28, where we have five artists performing – Cantrip, Andrew Wells-Oberegger, Skye Consort & Emma Björling, and Windborne. Plus, Seán Dagher from Skye Consort is also leading a sea shanty sing with Chris Koldewey. And I will be emcee-ing! I’ll make some other venue visits the day before this festival begins in upstate NY and western Massachusetts.

Hopefully I will be sharing more about our activities on these channels with some additional help from the team at Canis Major Music!

Sidebar – I’d like to express my gratitude to Janice Hanson who recently joined the team to help with loads of administrative and marketing projects – like interviewing me for this latest post and resurrecting the Chatter!

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