Canis Major Music was Well Represented at 2026 Old Songs Festival

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!